Covet the End
by Kakashis-First-Kiss
Summary: Sasuke's life always revolved around revenge, but he finds himself unable to deal Itachi the final blow. He decides that using Itachi as a bargaining tool with Akatsuki is a better option than killing him, but what to do in the meantime? KabuIta, OroIta
1. Chapter 1

Itachi had no conscious thoughts anymore.

Susanoo was draining him quickly, and the shield he was holding was doing little more than deflecting Sasuke's attacks. The strength it took to merely breathe at this point was taking its toll on Itachi: more blood welled up n his throat, and the Uchiha doubled over in a coughing fit. Sasuke's exploding tags ceased; Kusanji came for him. Itachi reached up and knocked away the blade, acting simply on survival instinct by now. Itachi slowly staggered to his feet: he needed to act, and he needed to act _now._ Itachi approached Sasuke, and the younger Uchiha ended up with his back against a rock. Itachi reached out-this was his victory! He would recover and see fully again-!

Itachi felt his heart flutter a second before his body reacted.

He knew this was it, and even if he could take Sasuke's eyes, he would never have them. Itachi's hand, unable to control itself anymore, settled with both bloodied fingers on Sasuke's forehead. As Sasuke stared in astonishment, Itachi managed one final smirk.

"Stupid little brother."

And that was it. The whole world faded to black, a deep velvet curtain falling across Itachi's consciousness. The elder Uchiha collapsed to the ground, Susanoo dissipating into mist and smoke. Black finally covered Itachi's vision, and the Sharingan vanished for the final time.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke wasn't sure how to react at first. Was his brother dead? Had he killed himself with the Sharingan? Or was he faking it, wanting Sasuke to come closer and spare him the effort? Sasuke finally worked up his courage and stepped forward, dropping to his knees next to Itachi's body. One hand moved to his neck; barely a flutter underneath his fingers. Sasuke let out his breath in one heave, bowing his head over his brother's body. "You stupid, stupid, man," he whispered, letting one hand rest across Itachi's chest. "You idiot…you could have had it all. You just had to push it, didn't you…?" Sasuke almost laughed at Itachi: it was ironic. He had wanted to kill him so badly, and now, he couldn't bring himself to even wrap his hands around Itachi's neck. His other hand moved back to his kunai pouch; one finger, then two, then three, four, and five curled around the metal handle of a kunai. Sasuke brought it around to the front of his body and braced it against Itachi's neck. Slit the throat? No, too messy. The kunai travelled across Itachi's half-fishnet shirt to rest above his barely-beating heart. No, that was messy as well. Sasuke considered his brother's lungs, liver, stomach, and intestines. All took too long. Maybe through the head? No, he didn't have the strength. Break his neck? He should be able to do that…Sasuke let out a shuddering sigh. He was kneeling here, in front of his dream, and yet…and yet, something was holding him back. Sasuke slowly dropped the kunai next to Itachi's head, one single tear welling up in his eye.

The kunai had sliced open his brother's hairtie.

Sasuke was brought back to the one time he had ever seen his brother with his hair unbound, and he had marveled at how beautiful it was. Itachi was lying in bed, asleep, when Sasuke had gotten up to get a drink of water. A nightmare; nothing more. He was eight, and his brother was thirteen. Itachi had gone to bed early, claiming he needed rest for his mission tomorrow. As expected, when Sasuke walked past Itachi's room, the teen had woken up, Sharingan flashing viciously in the night. Sasuke gasped with surprise; he knew Itachi was a light sleeper, but the Sharingan?! Was it instinct, or had he been awake this entire time? Itachi slowly sat up, and Sasuke remembered seeing his hair falling over his shoulders in an inky wave before he grabbed a clip from his nightstand and twisted it up behind his head. Sasuke had been stunned, and Itachi had released the Sharingan at this point. He stood up; he was dressed in sleep pants and a tee shirt. "What are you doing up?" Itachi had asked tiredly. Sasuke was still in shock, but managed to explain about his nightmare and wanting to go to the bathroom. Itachi sighed and came to the door, sliding back the flimsy rice paper and wood and picking up Sasuke in his arms. "Come on," he whispered, carrying the boy into the bathroom. "Get your drink, and let's get back to bed." Itachi had waited until Sasuke had gotten his drink and then stepped out of the way of the door, waiting for Sasuke to leave the bathroom before he himself went back to bed. Instead, Sasuke stood in front of him, arms extended, asking Itachi to pick him up without even using words. Itachi sighed, but picked up his little brother and carried him back to bed. "You are such a child," Itachi scolded, but otherwise made no complaint as he put Sasuke back in bed.

When he straightened, the hairclip was gone.

Itachi glanced around, sputtering, and Sasuke shyly held up the jaw clip. Itachi sighed again, but smiled, and took the clip back from Sasuke. "You are a child," he said with a grin, and gently ruffled Sasuke's hair. "Now go back to sleep."

Sasuke was happy for once, satisfied that he had pleasantly upset Itachi. He slept well that night, and never once mentioned the incident to Itachi. Up until now, he hardly remembered it. But now, seeing his brother beneath him, hair untied and falling around his shoulders, Sasuke couldn't help but remember.

"You don't remember, do you?" he whispered, "That night I caught you with your hair down…the night you carried me around the house, and I stole your hair clip…you were such a teenage girl." Sasuke slid one hand under Itachi's head, picking him up and gently sliding his eyelids closed. "I never understood you…but I didn't have to. You understood me, and that was good enough. I liked it the way it was-just you and me, together playing in the back yard…and then you had to go and kill it…quite literally. You were insane, I believe…but I never found out for real, because you ran away." The other hand found Itachi's body, pulling him across bent knees. "You fool…! I hate you, and I can't even kill you!"

Sasuke let his head fall to Itachi's body, and wept.

It took Sasuke a good fifteen minutes to let everything out: the hatred, the anger, the frustration, the way he had been so harsh on himself for all his life because of Itachi…when he was finally done, Itachi's face carried more blood, this time from Sasuke's knuckles, and a significant amount of bruises-also from Sasuke's knuckles. When Sasuke was finally done beating his brother's unconscious body, he was left panting and decidedly less angry. He vaguely registered three presences come up next to him, and raised his head after a moment.

"He's dead?"

It was Karin who had spoken, but Sasuke shook his head. "I couldn't do it," he whispered. "I always wanted to…but somehow…I can't…"

"It's your business mind taking over," the kunoichi said dryly. "We could always use a handle on Akatsuki, you know…a very convenient handle, given that you might gather your courage later…"

Sasuke sighed. "If that's the case, by all means, make that my excuse…but I'll never be able to live with myself, knowing that I was too pansy to take his life."

Karin shrugged. "Beat yourself up, beat him up, it doesn't matter. You got yourself a nice hunk of flesh here, and we can either use it or sell it. Take your pick."

"I'll deal with him later," Sasuke growled. "For now, tie him and carry him back to Oto. I want him adequately restrained so when he wakes up, he isn't even tempted to run."

"And by that you mean…?"

Sasuke sighed. "Since you asked, hands, feet, and collar him. I don't need him getting confident, either. Break him right from the beginning, and we won't have a problem later."

Karin looked almost concerned as she knelt next to Itachi and began winding a thick rope around the Uchiha's hands, tying them together in front of his body. She said nothing, working quietly as Juugo tied his feet. Suigetsu supplied a collar, but only Karin was brave enough to fasten it around Itachi's neck. "If he was at full strength, I wouldn't even be thirty feet away from this guy," Suigetsu muttered. "I have to admit, he scares me shitless." Karin sighed.

"Just let Juugo carry him," she snapped, and thrust the body at Juugo. The man accepted the load without much complaint; an unconscious, wounded Itachi was preferable to a conscious, wounded Sasuke. Sasuke took off ahead of them all for Oto, leaving it to Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo to follow.

He didn't want anyone to see the tears of regret that threatened to overcome him as he ran.

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi woke up very slowly, and even then had no idea where he was.

The elder Uchiha could feel bandages around most of his body, but could get past that very easily to ponder where he was. Well, the restraints might be a place to start…Itachi slowly moved each of his limbs, trying to see what he could move and how far. His hands were chained together with a pair of handcuffs, but otherwise seemed free to move. His feet were loosely bound so that he could walk, but not run. Alright, he could live with that. What he couldn't live with was what he discovered next.

"A collar?" he muttered, pushing two fingers underneath it. "Okay, too far!" Itachi reached around the back of his neck to unfasten the thick leather strap, only to find it secured to a leash. With a cry of rage, Itachi ripped it off with one mighty tug, casting aside the instrument of torture and sitting up. His wounds, however, forced him to release another cry, this one of pain. His ribs were throbbing! They had their own heartbeat! Itachi fell back to the bed, gasping and heaving with the strain put on his body. His bare skin fell on soft satin sheets, with more of those covering his body. Itachi blushed as he realized that he had been stripped down to boxers, bathed, bandaged, and then put to bed in someone else's room. Humiliating! But still, the bed was comfortable: it looked like he was in a master suite. Past the silk sheets were dozens of velvet pillows, stacked high against an intricate headboard of a four-poster bed. The walls were deep ebony; the carpet was a dark, dark, red, almost maroon if it was a bit more purple. Heavy velvet curtains hung from gold decorative rods, and they were pulled shut over massive windows. A plush-seated bench was underneath one of the windows. Bookcases lined the walls to either side of Itachi, and a massive mirror was resting on a vanity directly across from the bed. The vanity was a satin black, and several candles rested atop it, all in glass jars of amazing detail. A candle sat on the nightstand next to the bed, and this one was in a gold holder. Itachi reached over and picked it up, surprised at the beauty. Whose room was this? It was stunning-simply gorgeous, and obviously for someone of stature.

Like an Otokage.

Itachi's heart picked up as he realized he was in Orochimaru's room. But wait-Sasuke had the snake contained, didn't he? No-during their battle, Itachi vaguely remembered Orochimaru breaking free. Oh, he was going to be pissed-

"Well, now, awake at last, I see."

Itachi glanced up, panting hard, trying to see the identity of his visitor. A caped, hooded figure stood before him, nothing visible in the poor lighting of the room underneath the hood.

"Where is Orochimaru? I felt him leave me, now where is he?"

"Kabuto?" Itachi sat up, much more slowly this time, and stared up at the figure in front of him. The figure visibly scowled and reached up, bringing the hood away from his face. Itachi's eyes widened in shock; this was the tender, fragile little boy Sasori had passed off to Orochimaru years before?! And he was older than him! Itachi had only heard the stories, but really, he had expected someone…

"You were expecting someone more boyish…more innocent, no?"

Itachi sighed, then nodded. "The stories I heard were interesting, but nothing short of odd. What exactly are you, to be the sole survivor of a battle?"

Kabuto's hands flashed out, connecting with the side of Itachi's face in a vicious slap. "Hold your tongue!" Kabuto snapped. "I have no patience for you, and I could have killed you countless times before now and still now! Even if you are an Uchiha, you are weak! You're a fool! You have no idea-!"

"Kabuto, shut up."

Kabuto's mouth snapped shut, and he stepped aside as yet another shadowy figure was revealed. Itachi slowly put pressure into his muscles, tearing the ropes his feet were bound with. He needed to break the handcuffs now; but how? It would be frightfully obvious with his positioning-

"Don't even try breaking loose-you're not going anywhere."

Itachi was up in seconds, relying on his hands to taking him up and over the foot of the bed. One leg was outstretched, kicking out at Sasuke's face, and the other was stretched out to the side for balance. Itachi catapulted towards Sasuke's stunned face-

A second too late.

A hand fastened over his bare foot, throwing him into the wall across the room. Itachi managed to catch himself and land on his feet, breaking the handcuffs right in front of Sasuke's eyes. He pulled a knife he had found in the pillows and charged Sasuke with reckless abandon, ducking down and swinging one leg around to sweep Sasuke's out from underneath him. Sasuke fell to his brother's speed, even in his injured state, and the two ended up wrestling with each other on the floor. Finally, Sasuke pinned Itachi down using a knee in the gut. Itachi choked out blood as he was forcibly subdued, and Sasuke smacked him-hard-before picking up both of Itachi's wrists and pressuring them into the floor. Itachi lay panting for a moment, trying to get his bearings and trying to find out what Sasuke wanted.

"It seems you're still a bit off-kilter," Sasuke sneered, driving his knee into Itachi's stomach. Itachi grit his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut-he would not be forced to scream! He would not give Sasuke that pleasure! Still, when Sasuke drove more weight into it, Itachi let go of a strangled cry of anguish. Sasuke released his brother's stomach, satisfied, and settled back a bit, but still kept his position in Itachi's stomach.

"Well, now that you've let go of a bit of nervous energy…"

Sasuke transferred both of Itachi's wrists to one hand, drew back his fist, and let it fly. Itachi was hit with the full force of the blow, but took it silently. "I deserved that," he murmured, spitting out a bit of blood. He had accidently bitten his lip in an effort not to scream…

"Yes, you did," Sasuke snarled. "Now, if you're lucky, I'll only discipline you when necessary. But until then, you're going to help me out a little with Akatsuki."

"You mean I'm your bargaining tool, and personal slave until I'm either killed or given back to Akatsuki as a prisoner."

Sasuke shrugged. "Well, since you seem to have it all figured out…"

Itachi sighed and finally relaxed all his muscles, going limp underneath Sasuke in prayers of getting that knee surgically removed from between his ribs. Sasuke seemed to realize Itachi's (almost) submission and slowly withdrew his leg, watching for the slightest sign of aggression. "Well?" Itachi whispered. "You have me trapped here, completely under your control, submissive, and injured. What are you going to do to me?"

Sasuke smirked. "Whatever. I. Want."

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi pulled angrily at the chain around his neck for what must have been the fortieth time in six minutes. He was pissed off; Sasuke had seen it necessary to collar him and chain him down whenever he wasn't within his brother's sight. And so far, Sasuke was spending an awful lot of time in the hallway, answering the door…

Finally, Itachi heard the door close, and Sasuke came back in, just as Itachi took a bite at the leash attached to his collar. One of Sasuke's eyebrows rose in amusement, and his arms folded across his chest. Oh, he so enjoyed torturing Itachi!

"Tastes like chicken," Itachi spat, and put some chakra into the bite. The nylon finally tore with a satisfying _snap!_ and Itachi stood up, still glaring at Sasuke. "Chicken long overdue to me."

"Can someone say, 'princess'?" Sasuke sneered. "You'll get your food when I see fit. Which is not going to be any time soon, given the lip you're giving me right now."

"I'm hungry," Itachi growled. "And I'm angry when I'm hungry. As I'm sure you're aware."

"You're lucky I'm not asking you to do much yet," Sasuke growled, snatching the end of Itachi's leash and hauling him over to him. He shoved Itachi to his knees and locked a pair of handcuffs around his slender wrists, making sure Itachi couldn't perform any hand signs with the way his wrists were crossed. "Little bitch." Sasuke seized a handful of Itachi's gorgeous hair, yanking his head back and forcing him to stare up at Sasuke from his knees. Sasuke's mouth immediately curved down into a frown when he saw the look on Itachi's face.

"You've still got that defiant look in your eye," he mused. "Well, I guess I'll just have to fix that. The reason I took so long in the hall was because I was making arrangements for you. I can't adequately discipline you anymore, nor do I have the time for you. And so, I am passing you on to one of my more favored subordinates-he can play with you for a month or so before I want you back." Sasuke's lips formed a devilish smirk. "Be forewarned, aniki: the pain he will put you through is going to be horrendous. I doubt you have a fear; he will give you many. And if you do have one, he will discover it and exploit it. Don't even ask me who I'm giving you to: you'll meet him tomorrow. But for now…" Sasuke released Itachi's hair and kicked him in the ribs. "Clean the bathroom."

**A/N: Ever wondered how Sasuke got his revenge on Itachi? Yeah, he made him clean the bathroom…o.O Anyway, I only update with reviews, and the more the reviews, the faster the update. So…hit that button!!**


	2. Chapter 2

"_Itachi!!"_

Itachi sighed and finished picking the crap out from underneath his nails. "What now?" he called, in response to his little brother's scream.

"Get in here! I told you to clean the bathroom an hour ago."

Itachi shrugged, but, as Sasuke was three rooms down from him, he couldn't see it. But the flippancy was evident in his tone, dripping with sarcasm. "I don't feel like it."

"You'll feel like it when I break half the bones in your body!"

"No, then I'll feel like passing out."

A growl could be clearly heard, and Sasuke stomped back into the room, heading right for Itachi. Still, the elder Uchiha didn't look away from the leather he was trying to pry apart-the leather that was wrapped around his slender neck, marking him as a slave. A tiny piece of metal shaped like a sword dangled from one of the holes, signifying that Itachi was dangerous, and that anyone disciplining him should be careful and make sure he learned his lesson-and learned it well. Itachi was almost used to the beatings already-he had been here a week and had been smacked around at least twice a day every day. He had only been severely beaten once, and that was when Sasuke caught him stealing food. Itachi had hardly reacted, instead retreating to a corner and licking his wounds. Sasuke had kept him away from anything even remotely resembling food for three days, and had barely given him water. Sasuke knew that it was only a matter of time before Itachi tried to get something to eat again, but he was hoping that it would be long enough to remind Itachi just as brutally, if not more, who exactly was the boss.

"And you, little child, must think you're threatening."

Itachi yawned, and finally managed to pull the collar off his neck. He stood up and stepped aside just as Sasuke lashed out, bolting from the room with amazing speed. Sasuke might have sealed off his chakra, but his muscles still worked just fine!

Itachi flew down the hallway and out the door, turning a sharp left and continuing to run. He had made enough escape attempts to know where to go and where he could catch a moment's rest to be able to keep going. He also knew how to confuse his pursuers enough to buy him a few minutes' advantage. Itachi broke through throngs of people, and suddenly, no one knew he was a slave. He flew by everyone around him, long hair flying out behind him a black streak. Itachi's bare feet flew across the stone floor, barely touching its surface. The Uchiha was suddenly a jungle cat, leaping from tree branch to tree branch. The panther's eyes flashed, and his adrenaline surged. Itachi's feet made no sound on the floor, and he soon found himself alone in the hallway. He could hear footsteps, though, and knew he had to move quickly and quietly. Right now he would put some distance between himself and his attacker; then, he would value stealth over speed to remain hidden with the advantage. His chakra had been shut down, and thus gave off no signal. As long as he kept his body quiet, he shouldn't have to worry. Itachi turned a sharp corner-

And ran into someone.

The two crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs, and Itachi knew that was it. His encounter had cost him all the precious seconds, he had, and Sasuke was on him in a second. A vicious slap followed his wrists being seized, and Itachi found himself on his stomach on the floor. Failed. Again. And who was to blame for this…? Itachi's dark eyes travelled to the floor, where a figure with black hair and a dark blue kimono on lay out across the floor, seemingly stunned by the random collision. He was on one hip, and his body angle was tilted towards the floor. Despite the length of the hair and the clothing, Itachi could tell it was a male he had run into: the figure had no breasts, and broad shoulders. His hips were shallower than a woman's, and his stomach was flat. His figure was straight along the sides, and his overall anatomical structure was thicker than a female's. As the man slowly turned over to see what had happened, Itachi could see pale, pale skin, violet-framed eyes that was golden and slashed by vertical pupils-

"Orochimaru!"

The sannin looked surprised, and seemed hesitant to turn the rest of the way. Instead of on his stomach now, he was on his side. His long hair had fallen across his neck and shoulders, conveniently hiding the confirmation of Itachi's suspicions.

"You too, huh?"

Orochimaru turned over, and Itachi could see a black collar wrapped around Orochimaru's neck. A broken heart dangled next to a tear drop, and Itachi recognized the symbols as "broken" and "love slave." He sighed and squirmed against Sasuke's hold, trying to see what else Orochimaru had on him. There was one more…ah, a lightning bolt. Orochimaru had killed someone when he was still untamed and furious. That would certainly explain the tear and the heart being broken…Sasuke took no shit, as Itachi had quickly found out.

"He's just my pet," the younger Uchiha snarled. "Leave him be. You, on the other hand…what is this, your fifth attempt?"

"Six is my lucky number."

"And I'll make sure you never get to it. Now, you're lucky I'm not going to have everyone and their mother watch me punish you, because if I did, you'd probably have to cut your hair, change your name, and get some kind of facial reconstruction for shame of being yourself and having everyone know what I did to you."

"I'd cut off my head before my hair; you should know that."

"That's why I'm cutting it."

Itachi froze. "You wouldn't!" he finally said. Sasuke smirked. Ah, there it was: Itachi's one true weakness. Control the body, control the ninja. Apparently, Itachi amended this rule: rule the _hair_, rule the ninja.

"I would," he said, grinning like a Chesire cat. "And I would sleep like a baby tonight, too."

Itachi immediately fell into a panic. Years it had taken him to grow that hair! It was beautiful, it was his pride and joy! He spent half an hour every night on it, washing, combing, and making sure it didn't get damaged, and all damage was repaired. He had worked so hard to get his hair so long, and to make it so strong and beautiful…and now Sasuke was just going to-?

Itachi could hear the sound of a kunai being pulled from a number of other, and Sasuke pulled both of Itachi's wrists around behind him. He set one knee on Itachi's hands, and the other he put at the base of Itachi's neck to hold him still. He seized the long ponytail and held the kunai to the underside of it. "Kiss it all goodbye," he whispered, and the kunai ripped cruelly through Itachi's hair.

Itachi was suddenly numb. His hair…he couldn't even feel it anymore. Cut above the tie, the fringes fell into his face, equivalent now to the length of his bangs. Sasuke stood up, putting away the kunai and standing up. He held Itachi's precious hair in his hand, and smirked as his older brother struggled with himself.

"Well, I'll leave you to cry over your loss. But I want you back in the room within the hour." Sasuke waved the hair in Itachi's face, then pulled the hair tie loose and dropped it to the floor in front of him. He deliberately stepped on the hair as he walked away, and that was when Itachi lost it.

A single tear, the first of Itachi's life, slipped free from his eyes.

Itachi's first look had been shock, which quickly melted to astonishment, and then, sorrow, which still remained on his features. Orochimaru waited until Sasuke was gone, making himself scarce as not to be noticed. Once he felt Sasuke was a safe distance away, he crept out and knelt down in front of Itachi.

"I can grow it back. All of it; right here, right now. But…"

"You want something in return."

Orochimaru nodded. "You're good at stealing food from Sasuke, right?" Itachi slowly nodded, and Orochimaru continued. "I want some. Just a few cups of instant ramen, or something. Anything you can sneak out. As you probably know, Sasuke likes his slaves skinny." Orochimaru glanced around, and Itachi felt a tidal wave of chakra fly up. "It's mine," Orochimaru whispered. "He thought he suppressed it, but I designed a jutsu for exactly this scenario: captured and chakra shut off. He won't know unless I use it around him; I'm shielding it right now for a fifteen-foot radius." He slowly stood up and walked around to Itachi's backside, and he gathered the remains of Itachi's hair into his hands. "But we need to do this quickly. So just hold still, and this should work." Itachi nodded, and then chakra rushed into his scalp. Orochimaru gave a sharp tug-

And hair burst free.

Orochimaru swept his arm out, pulling Itachi's hair out until it reached the bottom of his back. Orochimaru smiled and hid his chakra again. "Long enough?"

Itachi slowly nodded, stunned by the sudden re-growth of his hair. "How did you-?"

"Kabuto was always cutting my hair to get the split ends off. I hated the length, and so I developed this jutsu to get my hair back to normal length quickly. And it's thick, too."

Itachi felt a small smile curve across his lips. "Is there anything else you want?" he asked. "While I'm there…"

Orochimaru shook his head. "No. I don't want to put you in any more danger. You're one of us now; you're my equal. Finally, but getting past that…" Orochimaru shook his head. "Please, enjoy that. Just get me a bit of food, and consider us even. And also-"

Orochimaru picked up the hair tie that had fallen with Itachi's hair and gently tied it back into a ponytail.

"Go rub it in his face. Tell him…tell him Juugo did it. He doesn't even know who that is, but no one likes him, so it's likely enough."

Itachi nodded. "Where and when do you want me to meet you?"

"Do you know where Kimimaro's room is?" Itachi nodded. Kimimaro had long abandoned his room, but apparently it was still used. "Meet me there. It's not far for either of us, and Sasuke won't notice. He tells the slaves to shower there, anyway, since most of us don't have rooms of our own." Orochimaru pointed to the heart dangling from his collar. "I don't even need one. Whoever Sasuke gave me to last? Yeah, I share with them."

"It's disgusting," Itachi murmured. "We had prisoners at Akatsuki, but, for the most part, we treated them fairly. They got one companion, put against the opposite wall. One meal a day, and we only resorted to torture for interrogations if someone didn't give us anything voluntarily. We didn't take women or children, and we took no civilians. Partly because they were useless to us, and partly because we just didn't see it as fair. Besides, the economy would collapse. Anyway, I will meet you there tomorrow at five in the morning. Sound good?"

Orochimaru nodded. "Now go," he said, "before we both get a thrashing for the record books."

Itachi smiled and nodded one last thanks, then headed back to Sasuke's room. He knew Orochimaru would be fine; he had skulked in here half his life, and was free to roam unless told otherwise. Itachi made it back to Sasuke's room in a matter of minutes at a leisurely walk, and took a deep breath at the door. He tugged down his half-fishnet shirt, straightened out his shinobi pants, and raised a hand to knock on the door.

OOOOOOOOO

Sasuke glanced up at the knock on the door. "Come in," he called, "it's open." Soft footsteps accompanied the opening and closing of the door, and Sasuke knew it was Itachi from the simple way the person moved. A confident, cat-like air and step-wait, confident? What happened?

Oh. Oh, no. That long ponytail swinging from Itachi's head could only mean one thing: deception.

Itachi paced into Sasuke's room, walking through the door and striding across the room. He stopped in front of Sasuke, who was lying out across his bed with a scroll, staring up at Itachi in shock. Itachi reached around the back of his head and slowly pulled the tie out of his hair. He leaned over, shook it in Sasuke's face, and then flipped it back over his head. Itachi childishly stuck out his tongue at his brother, turned on his heel, and left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Itachi went directly to the fridge and got out some food, then settled on the couch with a magazine and absently began to read the jokes in the back. They were usually really bad, but it was better than being bored and having his mind wander back to how badly Sasuke was going to punish him. Orochimaru would rather not think about that. He knew he would hardly have to wait; Sasuke was going to be so pissed. Hm, let's see…three…two…one…

And the door slammed open. Itachi smirked, leaned back, kicked up his feet, set the magazine aside, and put his hands behind his head. He had finished the leftover takoyaki, anyway.

"Two words, foolish little brother: bite. Me."

**A/N: Crimson, this is your birthday present-a day late, but hey, I didn't know. Happy birthday, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, and whatever else you people celebrate. Believe in the Easter Bunny!!**


	3. Chapter 3

"You shouldn't be worried about biting," Sasuke snapped. He was steaming, and Itachi could see that he held a collar in one hand and a long, paper-thin wooden cane in his other. Itachi sighed.

"Rattan, hm? Is this for cutting or thrashing?"

"I'll let you choose if you're lucky," Sasuke growled. "And you're not going to even know what hit you after six. As your trespass is this time your fifth of the same, I figure my pas punishments haven't been sticking very well in your mind. So, I've devised a harsher one I hope will stay fresh for a bit longer." Sasuke moved quickly; he was soon settled comfortably around Itachi's thighs, trapping his brother's legs between his own. He made sure Itachi couldn't escape before the thought even entered his mind, and then fastened the collar around Itachi's slender neck. He grabbed the leash that had been coiled in his hand and attached it to the collar, dragging Itachi into the bedroom. He shoved him over into the corner and stepped back, the long, thin cane almost cutting into his own palm with the grip he had on it.

"Now, just stand still, and we won't have any more problems," he hissed, stepping forward again. "This is disgusting, but hey, that's why you're in the corner." Sasuke's hand caught Itachi's pants and boxers by the hem and, in one smooth motion, dragged them both down to the ground. Itachi grit his teeth in anger: it wasn't as if he had never been punished, but a bare-bottomed thrashing? That was just not right!

"Twenty strikes of the cane."

As soon as the words passed through Sasuke's lips, the first blow fell perfectly across Itachi's ass, whitening at the impact and then turning a blush-pink. Itachi braced himself against the walls, spreading his legs and taking deep breaths as the next four strikes landed. He would NOT give Sasuke the pleasure of hearing him scream! Still, at the tenth strike, it was getting more and more difficult to contain himself, and Itachi finally raised a hand to his mouth and bit down on the muscle at the base of his thumb. It was pure muscle, and was near nothing major, like nerve endings or blood vessels. Itachi's eyes closed, and the tenth stroke fell. Sasuke suddenly seemed to pause; Itachi was tempted to turn around, but felt the blood dripping down his thighs and decided not to. He had seen this instrument of torture used before; it was as thin as paper, but as sharp as a razor blade and had the durability of flint. Wielded properly, it could cut like a katana or bruise like a tree branch. Sasuke was striking him on the angle of the cane, using a bit of its cutting edge to bruise and scar. Fortunately, the cane would only scar if it cut. Itachi was bleeding, but not badly.

"You are going to tell me what you are hiding from me by the time I get to twenty, or I start all over again. Now, how did you get your hair back?"

The harsh slap of the impact was heard as Itachi flinched in pain and tried to speak normally through the pain. Cursing his own weakness as he realized it, Itachi spoke quietly to hide the trembling in his voice: "Juugo did it," he gasped, pausing to chomp down on his hand again. "He-he used a special jutsu he invented himself to grow it back."

Itachi had finished by the fifteenth stroke, and Sasuke only seemed even more infuriated. "Don't lie to me!" he screamed, and hit Itachi harder. "I will give you one more chance, and then I start again!"

"You don't even know who Juugo is! You couldn't know!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Itachi had a point, but he was not giving him the benefit of the doubt at all. "You suck at lying!" Sasuke finally said, and the final strike fell. Itachi collapsed to the ground, shivering with the pain and trying to keep himself under control. "And you're lucky I don't know this Juugo person." Sasuke turned on his heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Itachi huddled in the corner, licking his wounds and trying to keep himself under control. Itachi gave a wistful sigh and brought up his Sharingan.

"And I'm lucky you didn't seal off my chakra, nor that you know I know irou ninjutsu."

Itachi sparked up his chakra, bringing forth a jutsu from deep in the Sharingan. Green chakra glowed around his hand, the true property of Yakushi Kabuto. Itachi touched the chakra to the cuts and bruises across his rump, closing over the slices and bringing down the bruises to pale white skin again. He stood up, pulled his pants back on, and reached around the back of his neck where the buckle for the collar was.

"When, foolish little brother-when will you learn? I can't be broken-I can't be killed. You cannot bring yourself to do it, and you cannot come up with the power to do so. You enslaved your only other source of power, and possibly several other small, but unsavory options. I will never see a tear upon this collar, or I swear on mother's grave, I will never take a lover and bring back the clan!"

Itachi shook his head and, on a whim, called up a tidal wave of chakra. He was wondering what the hell Sasuke was doing; was he oblivious to the fact that Itachi was about to make a move for himself? Itachi smirked and set the collar down against the door, then took several steps back. He initiated a fire jutsu just as the door opened, and flame poured towards Sasuke's shocked face. Itachi saw his brother barely leap out of the way in time, and the collar went up in smoke. Itachi's jutsu was weak; his control was a bit off, having been so recently injured, and so badly. Itachi let the flames taper off, then calmly walked out the door. Sasuke was standing next to the door, mouth hanging agape, as Itachi strutted out the door and hung a right, heading straight towards the kitchen. Itachi grabbed an apple from the basket on the counter, then, on second thought, grabbed another. He strolled out the door, leaving Sasuke still standing in shock.

He wanted to find Orochimaru.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi had thought Orochimaru would be hard to find; he wasn't. Itachi almost ran into him again, coming into Kimimaro's room. Orochimaru had immediately blushed and looked away, murmuring apologies under his soft breath. Itachi smiled and wordlessly passed him the apple. Orochimaru froze, realizing what was in his hands, and looked up at Itachi in awe.

"How did you-?"

"I'll get you more tomorrow," Itachi promised, "But right now, I wanted to just make sure you had something for today. And also, I wanted to ask if you were alright-you know, if you were found out."

Orochimaru shook his head and took a small bite out of the apple. "No, I'm fine, and so far, clean. You?"

"Got twenty strikes of the cane, healed, burned up a collar, grabbed some fruit, and came down here."

Itachi smiled at Orochimaru's shocked expression. "Are you alright?" the sannin cried, stepping back to look Itachi over. Itachi waved him off.

"Never better. And quite enjoying the hair, thank you."

Orochimaru gave a small smile. "Least I could do," he said. "I take it Sasuke hasn't sealed your chakra off yet?"

"I'm not sure if he tried and failed," Itachi started, frowning in thought, "or if he just hasn't done anything yet."

"Speak of the devil," Orochimaru whispered urgently, "his chakra's headed straight this way."

"I have an idea," Itachi said quickly, "but it's risky. It'll chase him off for sure, but I don't know what will happen later. "Wanna go for it?"

Orochimaru nodded, and Itachi stepped closer to him. "Just react naturally, and this should clear your name," he hissed. He paused, though, waiting for the click of the doorknob before shoving Orochimaru into the wall and crushing their lips together in a bruising kiss. Itachi could feel Orochimaru start, and it should have been visible to Sasuke. Itachi, however, made sure to appear dominant. He heard the door slam again, and retreating footsteps, and slowly released Orochimaru.

He was shocked.

He had felt the current pass between them; he was certain Orochimaru had felt it too. It was like electricity when their lips touched, and it was a powerful shock to both slaves. Orochimaru seemed just as shocked; his free hand came up to touch his lips, the tingling sensation lingering.

_Ever felt away with me  
Just once that all I need  
Entwined in finding you one day_

"So long ago…remember Akatsuki?" Itachi slowly whispered. "You came to me, asking me what to do about a wound on your shoulder…remember when I touched it? It was the same…Orochimaru…"

Orochimaru nodded, and his gaze averted to the apple he still held in one hand. "Are we in love or something?" he asked, almost jokingly, but Itachi was half-certain they were.

"Did you know gods of death love apples?"

Orochimaru smiled. "I think we're even in the record books."

Itachi took the apple in his hand, comparing it to the core he held. "These are our scores," he said. "I'm just more famous. Anyway, want to see something cool?"

Orochimaru shrugged. "Go for it."

__

Ever felt away without me

_My love, it lies so deep  
Ever dream of me_

Itachi spun his hand around, chakra turning up. "And not a Henge, I promise. Konan taught it to me along the lines of origami and transformation. She and Pein are married now, you know."

Orochimaru nodded. "It's not exactly unexpected, though…they were best friends as kids, and they spent most of their lives together. They started Akatsuki together, and they've been there for each other thick and thin."

Itachi's chakra rose a bit more, and he curled his hands over the apple core. He reached into his fist, pulled down-

And pulled out a rose.

Orochimaru's eyebrows rose. "Interesting," he said, picking up the rose and carefully turning it in his hands. "And real?! I should have stuck around longer!"

Would you do it with me  
Heal the scars and change the stars  
Would you do it for me  
Turn loose the heaven within

Itachi smiled and fell into step next to Orochimaru, as the two began absently walking through the complex. "So, no hard feelings?"

Orochimaru's smile returned, this time in full. Itachi was looking up: maybe he was coaxing Orochimaru's spirit back out, after all. He couldn't be truly broken, could he? He was even more ambitious and insane than Itachi himself-more powerful, maybe not, but a rival, nonetheless.

"Only for another kiss."

_I'd take you away  
Castaway on a lonely day  
Bosom for a teary cheek  
My song can but borrow your grace_

Itachi gently smiled and took Orochimaru's clasped hands in his own, leaning in close and setting a soft, chaste kiss on his lips. Orochimaru felt the same electricity pass between them, starting at their lips and spreading throughout their entire bodies from that point. Itachi felt Orochimaru begin to kiss back and pushed harder, asking for a bit more from Orochimaru. The sannin opened his lips willingly, and Itachi pushed his tongue into Orochimaru's hot, bitter-sweet mouth. Here was the sorrow and the pain, the bitter taste of defeat. Here was also, though, the sudden hope, the joy in finding someone who loved him, the longing for someone to lean on, for someone to cry with, to laugh with, to just love until the morning grew old…

_Come out, come out wherever you are  
So lost in your sea  
Give in, give in for my touch  
For my taste for my lust_

_Your beauty cascaded on me  
In this white night fantasy_

This sea of emotions hit them both like a tsunami, almost knocking them off their feet. Orochimaru fell into Itachi's arms, wrapping his arms around the Uchiha's neck and leaning up to kiss him more deeply. Itachi, in return, lowered his head and plunged his tongue into Orochimaru's mouth even deeper, bringing forth everything that Orochimaru had kept to himself for the past months under Sasuke's rule. Tears sprang from a golden spring, coating the white sand of its shores with dark grey marks of pain and sadness and…something else…

Joy was painted into their kiss.

Orochimaru was the first to withdraw, and Itachi let him go quietly. He did, however, sneak in one final, chaste kiss before he too pulled away.

"Somehow…I think we found love."

_"All I ever craved were the two dreams I shared with you.  
One I now have, will the other one ever dream remain.  
For yours I truly wish to be."_

**A/N: Wow, I am on a roll with this fic! : ) Fastest ever for any of my fics: three in four. Amazing. Well, anyone who's reading, please review. I'd love to know what you think, and it makes me happy, lol. : ) So hit the button!! Song is Ever Dream by Nightwish.**


	4. Chapter 4

"_Orochimaru!!"_

Orochimaru sighed and sat up, however reluctantly, from his spot in the bed next to Suigetsu. Sasuke had allowed the water-man to have Orochimaru for the night, so long as he would give him up the next morning. Suigetsu had agreed, and Orochimaru had found himself collared, leashed, tied down, and toyed with until he passed out-both from the beating he had received for being late and the rape itself. Orochimaru moved slowly, trying to avoid the pain he was feeling. Damn, Suigetsu had not been gentle with him! Orochimaru wrapped a thin kimono around himself, finally standing up and sliding out of Suigetsu's room. "I'm coming!" he called, trying not to wake Suigetsu by closing the door. He heard another scream of rage from Sasuke, and shivered as he realized that that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sasuke was done with him, and that was it. Orochimaru sighed, resigning himself to his fate and trotting up the stairs to Sasuke's room. He hurried down the hallway, heart pounding. The sooner he got there, the less angry Sasuke would be with him. As it was, he would flip out. Hopefully, Orochimaru could scrape up a few last words. Orochimaru slowed to a walk in the hallway to Sasuke's room, brushed off his kimono, and straightened himself out a bit. He brought himself back into a collected body, and stopped in front of Sasuke's door. He swallowed hard, and raised a hand to the door. He had just raised a hand to knock when suddenly the door swung open beneath his fingers. Sasuke stood in it, frame seeming to take up the entire doorway. Orochimaru shrank back subconsciously, his mind remembering Sasuke's face and pain going together like peanut butter and jelly. Sasuke, however, was having none of it, and grabbed Orochimaru's wrist. He twisted it sharply, bringing the sannin to his knees, and smacked him-hard.

Orochimaru cried out as his head was twisted to the side, old bruises resurrected and new ones forming. Sasuke showed no mercy. "You are beyond late!" the Uchiha hissed. "What's your excuse this time?"

"S-Suigetsu-san kept me," Orochimaru whispered, trying to control the shaking in his voice. "I apologize for being late, but please, Sasuke-sama, do not hold it against me-"

"Shut up."

Another harsh strike fell to Orochimaru's face, and Orochimaru let out another cry of pain. Sasuke kept his grip on Orochimaru's wrist, ensuring that his snake couldn't run. "All you do is make excuses, and lie, and do everything you can to stay away from me. Well, I have news for you, little whelp, your insolence stops here. I don't appreciate your disgusting lack of respect-"

"Oh, can it, Sasuke."

Itachi sauntered up behind Sasuke, brutally shoved him away, and caught Orochimaru in his arms. He pinched a nerve in Sasuke's wrist, forcing him to release Orochimaru's hand. Orochimaru immediately recoiled, retracting into Itachi's arms. Itachi took Orochimaru into his embrace, helping him up and then to walk away. Sasuke had recovered by then, and was not happy about the interference. He reached out, grabbed Itachi's lengthy hair, and pulled back-hard.

Itachi stopped, and whipped around, only to be greeted by a stinging slap. He let out a warning growl; he wasn't going to stand for much more. Sasuke, however, seemed to have planned ahead for this. He forced Orochimaru away from Itachi, with much pleading from Orochimaru and much violent protest from Itachi. He dragged Itachi after him by the hair, knowing that his mere demeanor would drive Orochimaru away. Sure enough, the snake only followed at a distance, seemingly scared for his lover, but more frightened for himself. Sasuke finally stopped at one of the doors in a long hallway; one of many. He banged angrily on the door until the occupant answered, clearly irritable and not intimidated by Sasuke. Itachi's eyes rose to the person standing in front of him. He had long silver hair that was tied back in a neat ponytail, and sharp black eyes that seemed incapable of missing a thing. They were hidden behind round glasses, and Itachi knew immediately that this was the famed Kabuto: the medical ninja who defeated two sannin in battle, and the third he had never tried. Itachi lashed out as far as he could, what with Sasuke's grip on his hair. It had become a leash, even with all of its beauty. Itachi always knew his vanity, pride, and arrogance was going to be his downfall. His teeth clacked together as they missed Sasuke's arm, and then Itachi turned on Kabuto, biting and punching and kicking. His movement, although tight and restrained, was still fluid and graceful somehow. He managed to land one good kick to Kabuto's stomach before the "genin" struck him, a hard punch to the face. Kabuto took a collar and a leash to Itachi's neck, and a pair of handcuffs to his wrists.

"He's broken them all," Sasuke warned. "I can't suppress his chakra, either: it always pushes through, creates a single fault, and then it's the crack in the ice. He doesn't even seem to be doing it consciously-it just happens-ow, you little-!"

Itachi had sunk his teeth deep into Sasuke's heel, biting viciously at his Achilles tendon. Sasuke kicked him with his other leg, connecting with Itachi's shoulder and knocking him back. Kabuto gave a firm tug on the leash and brought Itachi to his rump on the ground, half lying back with the force of the pull. Kabuto dealt him a harsh blow to the side of the face, and Itachi felt his nerve endings sing with the pain. He still fought, though: but he was fighting a losing battle. Kabuto's cold, vicious strikes hardly matched his desperate attempts at breaking off the chain, and Itachi knew that he was at an extreme disadvantage. Kabuto looped his leash around the doorknob for a moment, reaching down momentarily to repair Sasuke's ankle.

"How bad you want him?"

"I want him on his knees begging every time I raise a hand to him," Sasuke snarled, watching Itachi struggle. "I want him broken and bleeding every single night. I want him shivering in fear every time he sees me coming. Don't let his spirit stop you; show no mercy; show no fear. Don't let him get away with anything with less than three nice punches and a kick. Bruises must form every time you hit him. I want a tear drop on his collar in a month."

Kabuto seemed a bit surprised; his eyebrows rose, and his arms folded across his chest as he straightened to stare down at Sasuke. "Your ankle should be fine now," he said slowly. "But don't do anything strenuous on it for a day or so, just in case." He untied Itachi's leash, which was close to snapping with pressure, and pulled him up to his face to sneer,

"You will obey me. And that's not negotiable. You be nice and listen to me, do everything I say, we won't have a problem. But if this behavior keeps up, my friend, 

you are going to find yourself in a world of pain. Got that?" Kabuto gave a firm yank on the leash, then sighed. "He needs a choke," he muttered. "This one is tight, but not good for the kind of discipline he needs. Sasuke, why aren't you using something stronger?"

"Like what?" Sasuke snorted. "That's the harshest one I could find."

Kabuto sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hold him." He thrust the leash into Sasuke's hands and walked back into the room, which Itachi paused to glance into. His violent movements ceased for a moment as he peered in the doorway after Kabuto; it looked like a lab, with cabinet and counters lining most of the walls. Itachi recognized the slack in the leash he was given, and took severe advantage of it. He yanked the leash out of Sasuke's hands and stood up, reaching up to pull off the leash. Sasuke, however, caught the end and pulled Itachi forwards across the floor until his brother was flat against the floor. Itachi was about to try again when a hard, unrelenting kick met his side. Two more followed, and then he found himself on his knees with a sting in his scalp and across his face. Itachi hardly even knew what happened.

Kabuto had moved that fast.

"I told you, whatever you may have been able to get away with when you were with this scrawny little freak isn't going to cut it here. You're with me, now: I'm going to be so mean to you, it's not even funny." Kabuto slid a loop of chain links around Itachi's neck, small, smooth links clinking together as they dropped over Itachi's head and came together around his neck. Kabuto pulled on his end of the leash, and the entire thing tightened around Itachi's neck, almost to the point of choking him. Either way, the cold metal was distinctively uncomfortable.

"Go on, fight me," Kabuto sneered, leaning down into Itachi's face. He gathered the leash in one hand and, with that same hand, reached around to the back of Itachi's head to seize his long ponytail and jerk his head back, forcing him to look Kabuto directly in the eye. "I dare you."

Itachi's eyes still held their same, defiant spark, but something was different now. Now, Itachi's eyes held hesitation beside their fire; skeptical inquisition along with the curiosity of how far he could push. Finally, the winner was decided.

Itachi broke eye contact first.

Kabuto smirked and released the Uchiha's hair, letting his head fall to the floor. Itachi shifted to his knees and slouched over in a gesture of submission, hands together and resting on his knees. "Break him early, and establish who's boss, otherwise you'll never get a positive response," Kabuto said slowly, keeping an eye on Itachi. The second he saw defiance and a challenge in his eyes again, he would strike him. He would just have to beat the spirit out of him. There was no other way to go about this.

"Orochimaru!" Sasuke called. The snake hesitantly came out from behind the pillar he had sheltered himself with, silent as a shadow and tormented as a little ghost. "Go back to my room and get dinner on the table. Also, you're staying with me tonight. See that everything is ready." Sasuke turned back to Kabuto. "I trust you'll take care of him appropriately."

Kabuto nodded. "You have nothing to fear."

Sasuke nodded his thanks, and went to chase Orochimaru off and scare him into doing what he was told.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru had scampered back to Sasuke's room the second he saw the younger Uchiha's gaze fall to him, and had fled the wrath of Sasuke's hand. Sasuke's smirk of victory went unseen, and the snake flew off at the speed of light.

_Baptized with a perfect name  
The doubting one by heart  
Alone without himself _

Sasuke was in a horrible mood at this point. He felt inadequate to Itachi-and this time, it was master-slave! Why couldn't he control his brother? Itachi had controlled him so easily by emotions alone-and Sasuke couldn't even control him with chains and collars. Sasuke felt absolutely pathetic-he needed something to take his emotions out on-something he could easily control, that was already broken and would squeal in fear whenever he lifted a hand to it.

Orochimaru.

War between him and the day  
Need someone to blame  
In the end, little he can do alone

"Orochimaru!" Sasuke barked, throwing open the door to his room. The sannin glanced up from the table he was setting, then straightened and turned to bow to Sasuke.

"Sasuke-sama," he murmured. Sasuke ignored the obvious display of respect and submission and breezed past Orochimaru, burying his fist in his pale stomach as he passed. Orochimaru doubled over in pain, clutching at his stomach and coughing.

"Sasuke-sama, what did I do?" he whispered, trying to control himself through the pain. Sasuke ignored him still, angrily lashing out and hitting Orochimaru square in the stomach again. Orochimaru yelped in pain and skittered back into a corner, long kimono opening slightly over white thighs.

You believe but what you see  
You receive but what you give

Sasuke felt strangely better after only three more blows, and left Orochimaru cowering in the corner. He could see that he was in pain and frightened, but made no attempt to comfort Orochimaru or express remorse for his actions. Orochimaru's mind strayed to Itachi: would Kabuto treat him well? No one had any idea they loved each other-Sasuke thought Itachi wanted a little toy to play with, and that was about the extent of everyone's knowledge. Orochimaru forced himself to his knees, hearing the door to the bathroom slam. Now was his chance!

Caress the one, the Never-Fading  
Rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow  
Caress the one, the hiding amaranth  
In a land of the daybreak

Orochimaru bolted from the apartment, flying down to Kabuto's room. He knew Kabuto was ruthless, and showed no mercy to anyone. Except Orochimaru. Orochimaru himself was the only person Kabuto had refused to break for Sasuke. He had been Orochimaru's comfort throughout Sasuke's torture, and still was. Kabuto would welcome him with open arms, Orochimaru knew.

Apart from the wandering pack  
In this brief flight of time we reach  
For the ones, whoever dare

Orochimaru knocked on Kabuto's door, praying he would answer. Itachi answered at Kabuto's call, looking confused and lost. He seemed surprised to see Orochimaru, and stepped out of the apartment to briefly kiss his love.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered.

"You need to tell Kabuto that I love you," Orochimaru gasped, entwining his fingers with Itachi's and reaching up to kiss him again. "I don't want him to hurt you!"

Itachi sighed. "He won't believe me," he said softly. "You have to tell him; he listens to you. He cares about you."

"What is going on-Itachi, what the hell are you doing?! Disgusting little-!"

"No!"

Orochimaru jumped in front of Kabuto as he raised a hand to Itachi-but not before he saw the Uchiha flinch slightly. Orochimaru swallowed the lump in his throat and spoke clearly.

You believe but what you see  
You receive but what you give

"Kabuto, don't hurt Itachi. Please, I-I love him. Don't do this to him, don't do it to me-!"

Kabuto sighed lightly. "Orochimaru, much as I love you, you know Sasuke-kun does not allow relationships among his subordinates. I can't spare him for you-I have already made Sasuke-kun's black list, and would prefer not to become what I make. Besides, I can't disobey Sasuke-kun's orders: not now, anyway. If you had told me earlier-"_Caress the one, the hiding amaranth  
In a land of the daybreak _

Caress the one, the Never-Fading  
Rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow

"You didn't see me following?!" Orochimaru cried. He fell to his knees at Kabuto's feet. "You can't be serious! You know I would normally be as far away from Sasuke-kun as possible, and here I am following him-following Itachi. How could you?!"

"Orochimaru-"

"You should have realized what was going on! You knew about what Sasuke did to him-what I did to fix it. How do you think his hair became twice as long in half the time?! Kabuto, please, don't-"

"Orochimaru-"

"Kabuto!"

"_Orochimaru, listen to me!"_

Kabuto gripped Orochimaru's shoulders and gently shook him, trying to bring him back to his senses. Orochimaru's speech abruptly stopped, and his mouth snapped shut. Two tears formed in the corners of his eyes-Kabuto recognized the threat of tears and knelt down in front of Orochimaru.

"Look, there's not much I can do, but I can try. I'll talk to Sasuke, okay?"

Orochimaru turned away and covered his face with his hands. He was too ashamed to let anyone, even Kabuto, see him. Kabuto sighed and released Orochimaru's shoulders, letting him turn his body away. One hand gently came up to stroke Orochimaru's newly-bruised cheek.

"You are the Amaranth."

Reaching, searching for something untouched  
Hearing voices of the Never-Fading calling

Orochimaru let go a single, choked sob, and lifted his hands from his face. Tears were smeared across his cheeks, and Kabuto sighed. He hated to see Orochimaru cry, but what he hated even more as being the cause of the tears. "No, don't cry," he scolded. "I'm doing everything in my power to stop this. Don't be so quick to tears."

Orochimaru swallowed hard and nodded, accepting Kabuto's gentle embrace with little more than a whimper. He had nothing left-he only wanted Itachi, and he wanted him to be safe.

Caress the one, the Never-Fading  
Rain in your heart - the tears of snow-white sorrow  
Caress the one, the hiding amaranth  
In a land of the daybreak

"And the Amaranth cries," Kabuto whispered. "I never would have imagined. The eternal flower weeps for something it has seen so much before, even caused, and its beauty everlasting suddenly seems even more exemplified in sorrow. A fallen angel lies before me, begging for life and love, and I am forced to push it away. My love, I-I'm so sorry."

Kabuto stood up, and motioned both Orochimaru and Itachi into the apartment. "Five minutes," he hissed. "I don't care if you're plotting or having sex, just keep it to a dull roar." He pushed the two inside, dragging Orochimaru by the wrist and Itachi by the hair. For once, Itachi walked where he was told, but the second he was released, he went straight to Orochimaru.

Kabuto sighed. He was so dead for this, but to see an eternal flower blossom again was a rare treat. Orochimaru hadn't been happy in months.

**A/N: Well, I have fallen in love with Amaranth by Nightwish. It is such an amazing song!! Jeez, I just couldn't end this! : ) Well, enjoy.**


	5. Chapter 5

Itachi immediately took charge, pulling Orochimaru over to him and into his arms. A soft, chaste kiss was exchanged between them, and then Itachi took Orochimaru into the next room. He left the door open, however: he didn't want any complications to the situation. "Orochimaru, listen to me," he hissed, taking his love's shoulders in his hands. Orochimaru looked him right in the eye, somehow unafraid of Itachi. "You can't be seen with me. You don't know what Sasuke will do to you; I don't know either. God knows what will happen-period. So stay away!"

"How can you tell me to stay away?" Orochimaru gasped, clearly startled by Itachi's words. "We need each other to get through this-we can't just abandon each other so fast! There must be another way-!"

"Orochimaru, stop hoping."

Orochimaru visibly recoiled in shock. Itachi's words were harsh, biting, and bitter. He couldn't stand to hear him talk in such a way. Not only did Itachi bring down himself, but Orochimaru as well. "Itachi, please," Orochimaru whispered. "I can't lose you! Not when I just gained something…I can't just let it go."

Itachi sighed and closed his eyes, biting his lower lip in concentration. "And I hate losing you," he finally said. "But I don't want you to get hurt." Itachi pulled Orochimaru towards him, wrapping his arms around the slender, shaking shoulders. "Can you accept that?"

Orochimaru took a deep, shuddering breath, and finally nodded. "I-I guess," he said softly, his head dipping. Itachi could see the shine leave his eyes, and the energy fly out of his body. He felt bad for having to let Orochimaru down, but he would rather him be a little depressed than dead.

"Just know," Itachi said, "That I love you no less. I will still do everything I can to be together with you, but be aware that between Sasuke and his followers, we may not have a very good chance. Just stay with me, and we'll get through this." Itachi placed one hand under Orochimaru's chin, gently tipping his face up to look him in the eye again. Itachi placed a soft kiss on Orochimaru's forehead, then gave him a reassuring smile. "I promise."

Orochimaru still seemed skeptical, but willing to try, so he nodded slowly to appease Itachi. Itachi seemed satisfied, and held Orochimaru close to comfort him. The two just stood quietly for a moment, enjoying the precious moment they had left. Itachi stood with one arm around Orochimaru's waist, the other gently stroking through his hair. His head rested on top of Orochimaru's, which was pillowed on his shoulder. Orochimaru's arms were up and around Itachi's neck, just holding on to him. His breathing was soft and even; his eyes were closed, but held no fear. It was a wonderful change that Itachi could see his love in a state of mind other than pain and fear and torment and agony. The two didn't move for the longest time; they almost couldn't. Soft currents passed between them, moving rapidly through their bodies before dispersing into the floor. Orochimaru was happy that someone wanted him and accepted him; Itachi was happy that Orochimaru could accept him, especially after their past, and also was happy that Orochimaru was willing to try for him. But then there was Kabuto…the medical ninja must have something up his sleeve if Sasuke put him in charge. And Itachi had already seen that Kabuto was controlling, manipulative, and seemed to know already who was going to win this battle. He came into this with a confident, but not cocky, attitude that gave him an advantage over Itachi: stability. He had a state of mind that was constant, and so he couldn't be attacked or caught off guard very easily. He would also want to hold onto his position of power over Itachi, and thus withhold nothing. He would abandon all scruples in a flash to secure power over Itachi, and he would exploit every weakness.

Itachi was praying that the silver-haired ninja wouldn't find his only one.

A knock sounded on the door, and Itachi sighed with annoyance. He would have to let Orochimaru go. Kabuto's voice drifted in through the wood: "Sasuke's here, and he wants Orochimaru. He sounds pissed, so you better get out here." Orochimaru swallowed hard, and Itachi gave him one last, reassuring squeeze before releasing him and stepping back. "I'm staying in this room," he said softly, "So you go. I'm sorry. And Orochimaru-!"

Orochimaru looked up at Itachi, a question clearly etched into his eyes.

"Don't look back. Whatever you do."

Orochimaru swallowed hard and nodded, giving his lover one last kiss before turning around and leaving. Orochimaru knew Itachi was right; he couldn't look back, otherwise he wouldn't ever work up the courage and resolve again to leave. He took a deep breath at the door, pausing to collect himself, and then placed one hand on the knob. It slowly turned in his hand, and Orochimaru opened the door without a word. He didn't turn around to close it; he simply pushed it shut with his foot, and walked out to the door to Kabuto's apartment, to meet his master.

OOOOOOOOO

Sasuke stood impatiently at the door, one foot tapping, arms folded. "Where is he?" he muttered. Kabuto shrugged. He was standing in front of Sasuke in the open doorway, leaning on the jamb.

"I told him to hurry up and get dressed," he muttered. "I guess it takes longer than we thought. Don't forget, he also has a few nasty wounds to mind. Sasuke, you really need to punish him appropriately. This is too much; you discipline him too harshly, even I will attest to that. You see how firmly I discipline those you give to me; I'm very harsh, it's true, but you're worse. You can't just beat him for no reason: that trauma will last him the rest of his life. And think of the emotional scars he'll have: I can't help but wonder if he's even going to come out of this alive. You barely feed him, and work him every day. And then you ask him to sleep with someone new almost every night. How does that work? I mean, really!"

"Spare me the lecture," Sasuke muttered, waving Kabuto off. "I don't need you and your petty opinions."

Kabuto's eyes narrowed angrily. "First of all, you do need me. Second of all, you need also to respect me. Third of all, since you do need me and should respect me, you should respect my opinions, because they are anything but petty. Now, are you quite finished?"

Sasuke gave Kabuto the best death-glare he could muster: which wasn't much. Kabuto rolled his eyes and pretended to yawn, covering his mouth with his hand.

"Really, Sasuke-kun, you bore me."

Sasuke was about to make a snide remark about how Kabuto refused to address him as "sama" when Orochimaru approached the group. He shied back immediately when Sasuke's gaze swung around to fixate on him, and a peach flush rose to his cheeks.

"My apologies, Sasuke-sama, Kabuto-sama," he murmured, bowing deeply to both men. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Not at all," Sasuke grunted, taking Orochimaru into hand. He greeted him with a harsh slap that sent Orochimaru towards the floor, yelping with pain and surprise. Kabuto caught him against his shoulder and helped him stand-at least, until Sasuke seized Orochimaru's collar and clipped a leash to it. He yanked on the collar hard, forcing the leather into Orochimaru's bruised neck, obviously in such a state from abuse as the present. Kabuto took a step forward, but Sasuke was already walking away, dragging Orochimaru behind him.

OOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru found himself on his knees the second they reached the prisons.

He knew exactly why they were here instead of Sasuke's room: he was being punished for running away. Orochimaru had tripped on the way down, and had never quite regained his balance. And when Sasuke yanked him particularly harshly in one direction, down he went. Of course, a few kicks and slaps later and Orochimaru was back on his feet, if not simply to avoid the blows. Sasuke was being brutal, cold, and unrelenting, and no amount of pleading could convince him to lessen Orochimaru's punishment. Orochimaru was thrust into a cell, the door slamming behind the two of them. Sasuke had followed him in. He now took slow, lazy steps, driving Orochimaru back into a corner. Orochimaru was terrified now; he curled up in a ball against the wall, trying desperately to protect himself. Sasuke crouched down in front of him, running one hand under Orochimaru's jaw. His entire body shook from fear; small noises of pain and fear escaped his throat. Sasuke smirked.

"Mine," he whispered, his thumb moving up and over Orochimaru's cheek to wipe away a single pearly tear. "But, you know…there is one way I will let you go."

Orochimaru glanced up, inquisitive. Sasuke saw in him an innocence that needed to be crushed: an innocence he was going to crush himself.

"Rape Itachi."

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi had taken full advantage of the time Kabuto spent at the doorway. After he was sure Orochimaru wasn't looking back, and was totally gone, he had snuck out of the room and into the kitchen. He carefully opened the walk-in pantry in the corner, reached up, and grabbed a hold of a box of cookies. Hey, sugar gave energy. Itachi swiped three from the box, then returned it to its respectful place in the shelf. He scarfed down the cookies, then made a break for the fruit bowl. An apple made a perfect snack, and Itachi settled down in a corner to enjoy his first food in days. His mind soon strayed-how long until Sasuke got tired of him? And if he did, would Itachi tell him the truth to spare himself? Even Itachi himself didn't know how he would react to an interrogation having to do with the massacre night-he was compelled to tell Sasuke already, and Sasuke was going to go and ask him with a whip.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Kabuto loomed over him, fury evident in his voice and yet strangely frosty and cool at the same time. Itachi glanced at the apple, took one more bite, and then tossed the core into the trash can next to him. "Sitting. Why do you ask?"

A harsh slap followed closely Itachi's words. "Nasty little bitch!" Kabuto exclaimed, striking twice more before seizing one of Itachi's wrists and twisting it firmly to the side. Itachi flinched in pain and lashed out, biting viciously at Kabuto and striking with his other hand. Kabuto soon caught that, and his knee rose rapidly between their bodies to slam into the underside of Itachi's jaw. The elder Uchiha flew back with a cry of pain and rage, slamming into the counter behind him and sliding down to the floor. Kabuto took a step towards him, and Itachi reached desperately into the drawer above his head. His fingers groped blindly as Kabuto took another step forward-

Itachi's fingers curved around a wooden handle.

A long, slender knife came forth in Itachi's hand, brandished before him in a challenge. Kabuto stopped cold, looking pensive. He seemed to turn this over in his mind for a moment before reaching over and pushing the drawer closed, then stepping back again and sizing up Itachi, judging how much a threat he was.

Itachi's fine-tuned eye caught the flick of a wrist.

He dodged the knife as it flew towards him, leaning to his left and throwing the knife at Kabuto's exposed ribs. His arm was outstretched from the throw, and Itachi had moved quickly. Apparently, though, it wasn't quick enough. Kabuto sucked in his stomach and curved around the knife, the tip of it grazing the fabric of his sash as it passed and lodged in the cabinet behind him. Itachi scrambled to his feet and took off, which would, if he got out of the room, his fifteenth escape attempt in Oto. Itachi made it to the door, moving quickly, but he had the disadvantage-he had to stop to open the door, costing him precious seconds. Itachi was in lock-it wasn't locked! He reached out and had the knob in his hand and turned before he even stopped, and the door was flung open by the time he was. He charged ahead, hair whipping out behind him. He felt Kabuto miss a grab at the fine locks, fingertips grazing the ends of the ebony tresses spilling down behind Itachi. The Uchiha whipped around the corner, feet dancing elegantly across the floor as they pounded into the stone. Itachi's speed had increased dramatically since his capture: his numerous escape attempts had conditioned his heart, lungs, and legs to grow stronger to handle the heavy work load. Itachi charged around another corner, feet again overlapping to take it at such speed. He had to be going close to thirty miles per hour: one lost control of a ninety degree turn at thirty. Itachi came to a fork in the tunnel-which way, oh, which way?! He decided at random: right. He peeled off, leaving Kabuto stranded for a moment. Itachi had gotten enough of a lead to get Kabuto confused. However, the sound of labored lungs and bare feet slapping against stone as Itachi fled soon betrayed him, but Itachi had still gained a bit of precious time. He wore on, despite having run for possibly a mile now-at top speed.

The sharp sting of a needle pierced his shoulder, and Itachi flinched. Well, this was it. Kabuto had shot him with something lovely. Sixteenth-failed. Itachi sighed as he felt the drug taking effect, and then the whole world faded to black.

**A/N: Everybody bid on how dead Itachi's gonna end up. : ) Come on, ItaKabu next chapter!! Review and it comes all that faster!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Pein sat at his desk, trying desperately to chew through a mound of paperwork that reached the ceiling-in perspective. Pein finally gave up about half way through, his enormously-pierced face fall to the desk with a loud _clunk!_ courtesy of his headband. Pein could feel another presence enter the room; soft and quiet, yet distinct and noticeable. Pein sat up, forearms spread out on the desk in a vivid stretch.

"Keep doing that. It looks sexy."

Pein was about to snap back, when he saw a masked figure standing before him. He knew from the speech that it was not Tobi this time-no, the ruler of the Uchiha clan stood before him, Akatsuki cloak opened and mask moved aside. Pein rose immediately out of respect, giving Madara a small bow before walking around the desk to face his superior. "What did you want, Madara-sama?" he asked, leaning back on the desk. "As you can clearly see, the paperwork isn't done-"

"That's not what I came for. First and foremost-"

Madara's mask was on the desk in a matter of milliseconds, and his hands were on Pein's shoulder's, pulling him into a lusty kiss. Pein started at first, but then, his body softened and he leaned into their kiss. Pein rather enjoyed his and Madara's secret relationship: it made life so much more interesting. Madara drove his tongue forcefully into Pein's mouth: ah, he was rough today. Pein returned the kiss, his own tongue winding around Madara's and pulling him deeper into his throat. Pein felt his lover hesitate; he wasn't that rough, after all. Madara then plunged his tongue into the back of Pein's throat, a feat Pein hadn't thought possible before now. Was a human tongue really that long?! Madara sensed Pein's discomfort and withdrew to the front of his mouth, letting his love recover around their tongues through deep, gasping breaths. Finally, Pein was ready again, and the two had their lips meet again. Madara demanded more, though, his hands skating down across Pein's body to knead at a firm, supple backside through the layers of the Akatsuki cloak. Pein gasped around Madara's tongue, and Madara smirked into Pein's mouth. Lovely; he was a bit sensitive tonight. Well, take care of that later. For now, that was enough. Madara first withdrew his hands, letting them settle in Pein's lower back. Next, his tongue came back, untangling from Pein's and sliding back into its respectful mouth. Finally, Madara released their kiss, letting his mouth linger for a moment on Pein's before pulling completely away. Pein moaned and placed his head in Madara's shoulder, knowing his dominant lover would like it. Madara's evil smirk returned, and one gloved hand came up to stroke Pein's hair. Either his little toy was finally learning to behave himself, or he was being more devilish than ever and being a flirt-and possibly copping a feel while he was sat it.

"Not now," Madara said, putting Pein's arms around his neck. "And, second of all, Itachi has been missing for a few weeks now. Want to go after him?"

Pein sighed and broke away from Madara, wiping the saliva off his mouth from his master's messy intrusion. "I think so," Pein said. "Zetsu said that Itachi was kidnapped, and that he was going to follow. He's been reporting back saying Itachi keeps trying to escape, but fails. He's being tortured, really: every time he does something he's not supposed to do, he's beaten like hell, collared, and chained down. There's been talk of sexual abuse, but I'm not sure if that's past or future. Either way, I think that we're past honoring feelings. Go for it."

Madara nodded. "That's what I was thinking. He'll be cracking soon, and then it's only a matter of time until he breaks."

Pein gave a hum of agreement. "And Itachi is going to fight hard, which will make his captors only fight harder. Speaking of whom, who are they?"

Madara gave a huff of exasperation. "His brother, and most of Oto."

Pein looked surprised. "Orochimaru?"

"That's the thing," Madara said slowly. "Sasuke made Itachi his slave as revenge-he's going to use Itachi as a handle on us, and torture him in the meantime. But, he also defeated Orochimaru…see where this is going?"

Pein's eyes widened. "He made Orochimaru his slave, too?! Damn! This kid has issues!"

Madara nodded. "That's another reason to get Itachi out of there fast. I suspect rape, and I've gotten several security tapes from Zetsu. He made copies and returned the originals to avoid suspicion. But it shows Itachi being beaten and Orochimaru being passed around as a sex slave, and the being beaten for being late because his last master kept him. It also details Sasuke's usual punishments for his slaves: beating them senseless, and starvation. He uses food as a lever over the slaves, keeping them nice and skinny and desperate for food. Some of them are too desperate for words, like Itachi, and steal and sneak. Others, like Orochimaru, are so far gone they're afraid of what might come if they get caught eating or whatever. So Itachi is driven down the path of desperation, and Orochimaru is driven down the road of fear. Sasuke was aiming for the reaction he got from Orochimaru-I don't think he's prepared to deal with Itachi."

"Yeah, that kid will not break," Pein commented. "He's tough. He's certainly tough. He'd cut off his head before his hair, his tongue before whispering 'master' to another, and his knees before they hit the ground. 'Subordination' and 'submission' just aren't in his vocabulary."

Madara nodded. "Put together a team of four to go as representatives to Oto to request a trade for Itachi. Sasuke can either sell him back to us, or he gives Itachi back as a free man and we give him an alliance. See what happens when you get there, but think on your feet. I'll talk to you later, but until then, if you have any questions, just call me."

Pein nodded his affirmative, and Madara left the office. Pein sighed and turned around. Not only did he have paperwork to do, his playtime had it all over creation: the floor, the desk, the chair…

Ah, well. It was well worth it for that kiss and that grope.

OOOOOOOOO

Sasuke's words hit him like a brick. Rape Itachi?! What the hell? Was this a joke?! Orochimaru recoiled in visible shock and disgust, unsure what Sasuke was getting at. Sasuke smirked. He had Orochimaru right where he wanted him.

"There a problem?" he purred, reaching out to touch the side of Orochimaru's face. The snake flinched back from Sasuke's touch, clearly frightened and afraid he would be hit.

"N-No," Orochimaru stammered, trying to bring himself under control. Did Sasuke know? Was he doing this on purpose? Was he trying to make Orochimaru choose between his lover and himself? Or did he only suspect something and want to confirm it? Either way, Orochimaru wasn't being very convincing at the moment. And Sasuke seemed to know this.

"I think you're lying," Sasuke said, voicing Orochimaru's fears. "Pretty face, pretty words. But are they true at all?"

Orochimaru bit his lip and shook his head, trying to "accidently" knock Sasuke's hand away from him. One of Sasuke's eyebrows arched into a fine line, inquiring as to the meaning of Orochimaru's motion.

"That's what I thought," he said slowly. "So, it's either me and you, or you and Itachi. Choose. Now."

Orochimaru whimpered in pain and gazed up imploringly at Sasuke. See if a few tears threw him off…Orochimaru made sure to widen his eyes, drop his shoulders, and slouch over, making his posture as dejected as possible. His eyes began to water; any second now…it would either be a brutal slap or a sigh of exasperation. Orochimaru lowered his head a bit, having his hair fall over his shoulders. A bit over the top, he decided to drive his point home and childishly stuck out his lower lip, hoping Sasuke would remember when he himself gave Itachi that look, trying to make the taller Uchiha get him a cookie from the top shelf.

Apparently, Itachi had complied.

Sasuke sighed and looked away, turning his head to the side and trying to decide what to do with Orochimaru. Clearly he was frustrated, but softened by Orochimaru's puppy-eyes. Orochimaru's heart jumped; had he succeeded?

"Wipe that disgusting look off your face, or so help me God, you won't be able to move it for a week out of sheer pain."

Orochimaru sighed and slumped down even further, defeated. Still, the tears began to flow, but this time, out of devastation.

"Take me."

Sasuke seemed surprised at Orochimaru's change of heart, and this time, both eyebrows rose. "Any reason?" he asked slowly, trying to read Orochimaru's emotions and thoughts.

"I-I don't want to become what I'm fighting," Orochimaru said slowly. "It would be so hypocritical and immoral of me…and besides…" Orochimaru raised his head, suddenly a bit more bold. "I hate you. And I don't want to become you."

Sasuke at first looked like he had been slapped in the face. Then, his expression changed to fury, and Orochimaru knew it was coming. Still, he kept his head high, and his eyes open. As long as he was taking his punishment for his lover, he had no fear. Just knowing that Itachi wouldn't have to feel this pain was enough for him.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi woke up rather uncomfortable.

A growl of frustration soon reached his throat and escaped, grating vividly against his teeth and lips before flying out into the darkness of the hell he was imprisoned in. Like a dog, he was chained to the wall behind him, on his ass, arms stretched out above him. His ankles were chained to the floor with a rather short length of metal, the heavy cuffs already beginning to tear up his porcelain skin. His wrists were in the same condition: blood, lacerations, and abrasions covered them, and dried blood was crusted all down his arms from where it had slid down his skin and dried in the frigid air of the dungeons. Itachi also felt blood dripping down his chest, and noticed he was shirtless-and collared. A short leash attached to the wall restrained most of his movement, and the shackles on his hands and feet took care of the rest. Itachi sighed and swore he saw his own breath. Having absolutely no clothes on him didn't help either. Itachi was embarrassed beyond belief to find that he was completely naked.

"Awake, hm?"

Kabuto stepped out of the shadows, and Itachi instinctively withdrew. His rational mind told him to fight and he was capable of winning; his animalistic thought process told him to run in his vulnerable state. The only problem was, he couldn't move. Simply physically impossible. Itachi shifted a bit on his tailbone, trying to see where he could and couldn't move. He noticed a long, dark, silk piece of cloth in his hand, a rippling piece of shadow the perfect size to cover his eyes or mouth-and nothing else. So, they were only seeking to quiet him or blind him. Well, silk was perfect. It wouldn't stretch, and it clung to itself, making knots hard to undo. Kabuto stepped forward, put the cloth over Itachi's eyes, and tied it tightly in the back. Itachi felt a bottle of water pressed to his lips, and immediately locked his teeth around it. He pulled it back into his mouth and drank greedily until all the water was gone. He was disappointed; it was only a half-pint bottle. Once it was empty, he reluctantly let go of it from between his teeth, and Kabuto pulled it away.

The slap shocked him.

Being completely blinded, Itachi was unable to anticipate blows. He was stuck waiting and just bracing himself for the next one. Several punches, kicks, and slap fell to his vulnerable body, and not any that showed mercy in the slightest. Kabuto stopped, however, once Itachi loosed a single scream of pain: he could be heard stepping forward, and Itachi's muscles sang with energy to burn. Fight-or-flight was still in place.

Hot lips pressed to his.

Itachi started and tried to yank away, but Kabuto held firm. One hand came up to fist in Itachi's unbound hair, holding his head still as he plundered the Uchiha's mouth as fully as he planned to plunder his body. Kabuto's other hand crept down to Itachi's bare ass, forcing him up to his knees to caress the firm muscle of Itachi's backside. Itachi really began to get worried when he felt Kabuto's bare palm against his rump-Kabuto never removed his gloves! Itachi jumped as Kabuto's hand slid devilishly lower, and he began to visibly tremble.

He screamed as the first finger penetrated his entrance.

Kabuto caught the scream in his brutal kiss, gently working Itachi open a bit more. Meanwhile, Itachi was having none of this-bucking his hips, twisting his head, and just trying to break the chains. His chakra was nowhere to be found-drained, and thus making him all the weaker. Itachi felt tears spring to his eyes as Kabuto inserted the second finger, and he thought he was going to pass out. It seemed Sasuke-or Kabuto himself-had discovered Itachi's only fear.

Being raped.

Itachi was still a virgin, and took his chastity very seriously. He wasn't a whore, contrary to popular belief. Fishnet did not make one a whore or a prostitute-it just made them look like one. Itachi supposed his fishnet shirt and tight leather pants had always been seductive, but hardly anyone had ever seen him in them! That Akatsuki cloak hid everything from clothing to elephants.

Itachi's blindfold was staying in place nicely, and Kabuto seemed happy with this. As a blessing in disguise, he shoved one final finger into Itachi's passage, forcefully stretching him beyond comfort and feeling blood drip from the torn skin. Satisfied at last, Kabuto removed his fingers from Itachi's entrance and his lips from the Uchiha's, leaving him gasping and clutching at the chains on his wrists, trying to haul himself up to at least make an attempt to fight.

Itachi wasn't prepared for even his own scream when his virginity was finally, brutally, taken.

**AN: All the pairings come in this chapter. : ) Some hot yaoi for ya folks, and this story finally earns it initial rating. So you can't yell at me for scarring!! It was rated from the beginning at M!! : ) So, review, please, and I will elaborate a bit more on these pairings. Definitely let me know which ones you like, though: MadaPein is copyright of me. I came up with it. KabuIta in that order is copyright of me…wow, I'm on a roll. Bottom line, review and you get cookies. Yays!! : )**


	7. Chapter 7

Every day for the past six days, it had been the same for Itachi. Kabuto would come in, give him a few gulps of water, and then beat him senseless. The entire time, he never said a word, and Itachi's blindfold remained. It would be hours before Itachi was calm again; it would be another few hours before he realized how hungry he was. He hadn't been fed in almost a week-was Kabuto planning on starving him to death?

The door slid open.

Itachi cringed at the high-pitched metallic squeak, and found himself trembling with apprehension. Back so soon? Would they ever tire of making him scream?

"Itachi? Stay calm, I-it's me."

Itachi froze, recognizing the voice that had spoken. Orochimaru! He let out a breath of relief, and he managed to stop trembling. "How did you get here?" he whispered. "Sasuke is going to be furious if he finds out-"

"I don't care!" Orochimaru cried. He reached up and pulled the blindfold off Itachi's eyes, letting him open them and move around a bit to make sure they wouldn't deteriorate from lack of use. Orochimaru reached out and wrapped his arms around Itachi, needing to feel his lover in his arms as much as Itachi needed to feel him at the same time. The two merely knelt there for as long as they could, Orochimaru sobbing softly into Itachi's shoulder and Itachi's tears barely visible. He couldn't move at all: he could shift his weight in a pivotal circle, but that was all. Orochimaru seemed devastated to have this happen to him, and only wanted to cling to Itachi-and never let him go. Itachi gently kissed Orochimaru's dark hair, whispering to him to try to quiet him.

"Orochimaru, hush," he murmured. "I'm here; I'm alive. Calm down…sh, sh, sh, don't cry…you're better than this. Quiet; I'll pull through. We'll pull through. It'll be alright."

His words helped him, at least. Orochimaru seemed to calm down a bit, but otherwise seemed not to recover at all. Itachi let him cry as long as he needed to; he knew Orochimaru was feeling this more than him, and he wasn't about to make him keep it all bottled up inside. It wasn't good for him.

"_Orochimaru!!"_

Orochimaru started at the sudden ringing in his ears and shot away from Itachi. He spun around, the force of Sasuke's voice still echoing in and around the tiny stone room. Orochimaru whipped around-

And his heart almost stopped.

Sasuke himself stood in the doorway, tall and menacing. Orochimaru unconsciously whimpered and drew back, clearly frightened. Sasuke felt satisfaction swell in his chest-he had succeeded with this one, at least. And from the looks of it, Kabuto was doing an excellent job with Itachi. Sasuke paced towards Orochimaru, seized his collar, and slapped him so hard the sound itself reverberated almost as loudly as Sasuke's scream. Orochimaru yelped with pain and fear as his head snapped to the side, driven to his knees in terror. "Leave him alone!" Itachi cried, straining at the chains that bound him. "Let him go, don't touch him!!"

Sasuke drew back a fist and buried it in Orochimaru's stomach, ignoring the pleas and cries from the suffering slave beneath him. Orochimaru scrambled back into a corner, bringing his arms up to his face to defend himself. His efforts were futile, though: Sasuke seized his hands and forced them away, then raised his hand again. Orochimaru cringed back, fearing what he knew would follow-

"Sasuke-san, someone at the gate demands an urgent meeting with you."

Sasuke sighed and dropped Orochimaru, spitting, "You'll get it next time I see you," and stalking out after Orochimaru's savior. Kabuto had come just in time. Had he done it on purpose, or was it coincidence? Orochimaru let out a sigh of relief and slipped back into Itachi's arms. He was content to lie there until Sasuke came back. The more time he had with his lover, the stronger he would be.

OOOOOOOOOO

Kisame, Hidan, and Sasori ran through the forest, taking a sharp right to approach the huge gates from the front. Kisame couldn't help but be nervous; anyone who could take Itachi and control him so easily had to be someone dangerous. But what Kisame wanted to was…who? Sasuke had beaten Itachi while he was injured, so that wasn't exactly the best measurement of power…who else was there? Orochimaru was enslaved as well, he heard, and most of the ninja had turned against him, anyway. Who was left…?

That creep, Kabuto.

Kisame knew of the kid's impressive power, but he had to wonder to what extent it had grown. He didn't know what the kid was planning, either: he seemed like a demon in an angel costume. A damn good one, too. He honestly couldn't tell that the kid would kill you in less than a second, given the chance. Kisame stopped at the gate, deciding how best to enter. Well, be nice and get on their good side for now. You could go from nice to mean, but you couldn't go from mean to nice. Try their luck first. He knocked loudly on the gate and simply told the guard he needed to speak with Sasuke immediately. He showed them the scroll with Pein's seal on it, and the guard sent someone to get Sasuke. Kisame waited, leaning against the gate. Hidan peeled skin off his fingers. Sasori shot puppet strings in and out of his body and practiced moving rocks. They waited for fifteen minutes before the gates creaked open just enough for them to pass through and a young woman motioned them through.

"This way."

She was dressed in the typical Sound uniform, and had shocking red hair and chocolate brown eyes. A flute was stuck in her shuriken holster; no other weaponry was in sight. Kisame knew that meant nothing, but thought it was odd. He followed the girl into what looked to be an underground complex, and off into a large room furnished only with a long table and several chairs along it. The girl motioned for the Akatsuki to sit, then stood by the door and leaned against the jamb. She and the Akatsuki both were counting minutes; Sasori's foot began tapping impatiently, and the girl frequently glanced at the clock on the wall at the far end of the room. Finally, she sighed with impatience and muttered, "Where the hell is he?"

Of course, the doors opened at exactly that moment.

The girl rolled her eyes and walked out, holding up her hands. "Have fun." She didn't glance back as she left, and Sasuke was left sighing and rolling his eyes much in the same fashion. He took the seat at the head of the table, and set his forearms on the table in front of him. "So, gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

Kisame raised a single eyebrow, and rolled the scroll towards Sasuke. "The details are in there, but we want Itachi back, as you can guess. In short, we are willing to offer several of our own prisoners, an alliance, a treaty, or a nice chunk of cash. So, what appeals to your more generous nature?"

Sasuke's eyebrows rose at the content of the scroll, and he hastily opened it. Perfect…the kid might be a good ninja, but he knew nothing as far as running a village went. Kisame, if he played this right, could probably eek something good out of the kid. He might even ask for Orochimaru…simply for sake of revenge.

"I like the alliance, and I like the sound of your prisoners. However, I would have to see what shape they're in and judge their demeanor before I decide."

"Tell ya what," Hidan growled. "Since you made us wait for twenty fuckin' minutes, I'll let you keep your liver and a few bucks, and scram with Itachi. Sound fair?"

Sasori sighed. "Hidan, who let you come anyway? I thought Pein put you under house arrest."

Hidan muttered something inaudible about "damn bastard shoulda kept his frickin paws off my chili cheese dog" and fell silent. Sasori turned to Sasuke, a confident, yet calm gleam in his eyes. "Give us your opinion, and we'll meet you somewhere in the middle," he said slowly. "But if we can't reach an agreement, think of what you're up against as far as we go."

Perfect. He was hinting at something bigger that wouldn't really hit Sasuke until later. Then, it would naw at him from the inside out for a while, wearing him down until he finally consented. It would also soften him up for a bigger blow.

"Well, how about the alliance and a small bit of money?" Sasuke offered. "I'm not sure if I want to kill him or not, so make your decisions fast."

Kisame glanced at Sasori, then at Hidan. Hidan nodded once and stood up, leaving the room. Sasuke watched him go, but asked no questions. Ah, wonderful. The brat really was clueless as to running a village, making deals, the like. Akatsuki never intended to give Sasuke anything. Their plan was to get Itachi back for as little as possible-that was why Hidan was there. Make it seem like h wasn't supposed to, so Sasuke would think less of it when he left the negotiations.

"Hold it."

Hidan froze, swore, and sat down again. He slouched down in his seat and began to mope, muttering and making a scene. Kisame sighed. Hidan had given up way too easily. Sasuke then stood up and went into the hallway, seemingly conversing with someone outside. Kisame caught Itachi's name among the words spoken. Sasori leaned over towards him.

"Go for the alliance and a small sum of money," Sasori hissed. "We can always go back to Pein-sama and find out a way to rip him off. Just demand Itachi now or no deal!"

Kisame nodded and waited for Sasuke to come back and sit down. He didn't want to seem desperate; he wanted to remain in control of the situation. When Sasuke finally came back, he was actually the first to speak.

"Kabuto wanted to know if he should get Itachi now, but I told him to wait until I had the money and the signatures for the alliance. So, I suggest you go back and get those before you start demanding things from me."

Sasuke had a damnable smirk on his face, and Kisame silently cursed him for his sudden intellect. Well, it was probably whoever Sasuke had spoken to. Kabuto. Of course. Why did the kid have to be so damn smart? Kisame sighed and stood up, and Sasori and Hidan did the same.

"We'll be back," Sasori said. "You may expect us in three day's time."

Sasuke nodded and rose, motioning to the door. "Tayuya will show you out," he said. The girl from earlier was standing by the door again, half-asleep. She jerked awake at her name, and shook her head to wake herself up. Sasuke peeled off in the opposite direction, and Kisame left defeated.

OOOOOOOOO

Kabuto stood by Itachi's door, making sure no one else made it in behind his back. Once Akatsuki was gone, he would leave. He had gently taken Orochimaru away only a few minutes ago, hiding the sannin in his own room with the Sound Five to try to calm him down. Itachi was still kneeling down in the room, arms twisted up over his head and chained together at the wrist. Kabuto could see that he had fought; blood ran down his pale flesh, from his neck to his ankles. The tiny rivulets had to be driving him crazy…Kabuto sighed lightly at the thought of what he was doing to Itachi. And seeing Orochimaru so distraught was bound to screw him up a bit more…Kabuto knew it had really hit him hard. Itachi's eyes, stil visible from when Orochimaru had torn off the blindfold, were cast downward and held genuine fear and sadness: Kabuto never thought he would ever live to see the day Uchiha Itachi was broken and trembling on the floor in a dungeon cell, let alone by his own hand, but apparently, it was possible.

He heard Sasuke scream down to him that he could go now, but something kept Kabuto pinned to the spot. Itachi had slowly deteriorated over the last week: he had probably earned his tear by now. But if the tears threatening him now were any indication, Itachi would be messed up for life.

Kabuto slowly pushed open the door, wincing at the harsh metallic grate. He saw Itachi glance up, and noticed the two clean streaks on his cheeks. He sighed, but held firm and knelt down before Itachi. The once proud Uchiha's head bowed in submission, and Kabuto was surprised again at the words that spilled from his full, pretty lips.

"What do you want from me?"

Kabuto almost recoiled, but reached out and touched Itachi's cheek, feeling the desperate sadness spilled there. Itachi visibly shivered at his touch, and Kabuto could swear he heard a whimper.

"You've already taken everything!!" Itachi suddenly cried. "What more can you take away from me?! You have taken my lover, my pride, my sanity, and my virginity! My dignity has been stripped away, trampled underfoot. My entire life was stolen from me! What else can you possibly want?!"

Itachi found himself hysterical, and trying-in vain-to restrain his tears. Pearls of sorrow slid down his pale, beaten face, wiping away a tiny amount of the blood, dirt, and grime that was plastered to Itachi's face. "You even took my brother," he whispered. "I couldn't…I couldn't save him. I tried, but he…I didn't have enough left. At first, I thought he would save me…but then I found myself collared, chained, and raped, and you can't even tell me what else you want? What else do I have left to give?!" Itachi fell silent, a choked sob bursting from his throat. When it all boiled down to it, he was only nineteen. Still young, tender, and unprepared for the world at hand. His shoulders shook with the force of his tears, but he somehow managed to keep quiet.

"_Goddammit, answer me!!"_

Kabuto sighed and pulled the teardrop from his kunai pouch, slowly reaching out and sliding it through one of the holes in the collar around Itachi's neck.

Itachi knew this was it. He was done; he was broken. This was it. The constant beatings, lack of food, minimal water, rapes, and seclusion, had all caught up with him. He was truly broken now. Kabuto reached out and touched Itachi's face, getting a shocked reaction and a gasp of fear.

"When is this all going to end?" Itachi whispered, lowering his head again. Unbound, matted hair fell across his shoulders and face, smearing the dampness of tears. "When will I reach the end?"

"Covet the end," Kabuto murmured in return, standing up. "Because it awaits you, and will embrace you fully when you reach it."

"Covet the end," Itachi said softly, "Because it holds peace and eternal rest."

**A/N: In case you didn't get the last line, Itachi is saying that he envies those with the ability to fly free or get to the end-he thinks that the end for him will be when he dies. He thinks that the future for him is death, and that is why he envies the end-it will bring him to rest and possible retribution. Title comes in here-covet the end? Itachi envies death. : ) Depressing, no? Well, review and you can all see if Itachi gets his wish!**


	8. Chapter 8

Madara found himself staring at Pein long after they had finished talking. He was drawn in by their kiss, and needed to feel more of Pein beneath him. He finished giving Pein his orders, waited for Pein to transfer them to the rest of the Akatsuki, and then approached him.

"So….what are you up to now?"

Pein shrugged, but slipped closer to Madara, a sly grin on his face. "I don't know…" he said softly, one hand drifting up Madara's body. "Why don't you give me something to do?" Pein's hand ended up on the back of Madara's neck, and he suddenly pulled the Uchiha down to kiss him. Madara seemed pleased; he smirked into Pein's mouth and immediately returned to kissing him as deeply and passionately as before. Pein's arms encircled Madara's neck; Madara's arms were around Pein's waist. He pulled the leader of the Akatsuki closer to him, and his hands slid sinfully low once again. Pein gasped as Madara's hand found his ass and gripped it tightly, almost painfully. Madara drove his tongue into Pein's mouth, and one hand left Pein's ass. It slid into the Akatsuki cloak, slowly, sensually driving it off Pein's shoulders. The dark fabric pooled at their feet, and another dropped behind Madara. Headbands, shoes, and shirts fell to the floor, leaving the two lovers shirtless and kissing each other brutally. Pein could feel blood running down his face from where Madara had bitten him: Madara swept in, licking off Pein's jaw and moving down to kiss at his neck. Pein's head tipped back, releasing a long, low moan of pleasure from the back of his throat. Madara sucked greedily at the flesh, bringing blood vessels up the surface to form a dark stain on Pein's neck. A harsh bite delivered to just above the hickey extracted a gasp from Pein's throat, and Madara smirked with victory. Pein was withering beneath his touch, and submitting perfectly to his desires. Madara shoved Pein back onto the desk, yanking his lover's pants off in one smooth motion. Pein was left panting, lying on the desk in only his boxers. Madara rid him of those as well, climbing on top of Pein and kissing him again. Madara had seen all of Pein's incredible piercings before, but somehow, Pein always had more whenever they stripped down.

Two nipple piercings, a ring in his navel, eight rings and a bar in each ear, three across the bridge of his nose, four in his lips, even a tongue bar. Pein certainly lived up to his name as far as decorations went. And he had just gone and pierced his collarbone. Madara eagerly bent his head, licking around the ring around Pein's collarbone and gently biting at the skin next to it. Pein arched his back, arching into Madara's touch. His hands were around Madara's shoulders, and Madara could feel his nails digging into his shoulder blades. Madara lifted himself up a bit and began grinding his growing erection against Pein's, enjoying the groan Pein offered him at the contact. Madara sat across Pein's hips, placing three fingers in his mouth and ordering, "Suck." Pein eagerly began to do so, licking and nipping in between his long sucks. Madara left Pein to suck on his fingers while he shrugged out of his pants and boxers, using his other hand to pull them off. He kicked them over the end of the desk and straddled Pein's hips again, reveling in the sudden heat of flesh-on-flesh contact he received from Pein. He pulled his fingers out of Pein's mouth, only to thrust them back in. He continued this for several minutes, finger-fucking Pein and listening to the deep moans and whimpers his lover produced. Finally, Madara decided he had had enough, and pulled his fingers out of Pein's mouth for good. He lowered them to Pein's ass, moving back and swiftly spreading Pein's legs. He settled between his legs, moving his hand down to Pein's entrance. They were both bathed in sweat and panting; tiny rivulets of blood ran down Pein's body from Madara's love-bites. Madara's fingers gently massaged at the tight ring of muscle he was preparing to plunder before pushing one finger firmly in. Pein moaned at the intrusion, but thrust his hips down onto Madara's hand, begging for more. Madara smirked and pushed the second finger in, and this time, Pein let out a gasp of pleasure. A moan slid from between full lips, and Pein found himself grasping Madara's shoulders as if hi life depended on it. Madara raised his head and kissed Pein's stomach, tongue flicking out and brushing teasingly against the flesh he found there. Pein's stomach spasmed before sucking itself in, and Madara bit harshly at the edge of Pein's navel. Enough of a distraction: Madara plunged the last finger into Pein's entrance, relishing the short cry that was released. He began scissoring his fingers, trying to get Pein used to the feeling of being filled and stretched far beyond comfort. They had done this before, but it always seemed to Madara that Pein was virgin-tight. Madara made sure to get as much of Pein's saliva inside him as possible; he wasn't feeling patient tonight, and wasn't going to bother having Pein lube his cock, as well.

Pein cried out as Madara thrust into him.

Madara rested inside his lover for a moment letting him get used to the feeling. In the meantime, he seized both of Pein's wrists and pinned them above his head, holding him down and keeping him from interfering. Madara always loved this heady rush of power he got from dominating Pein-such a beautiful, feisty, defiant creature, beneath him whimpering, moaning, and begging for more. Madara crushed his lips onto Pein's in a bruising kiss, catching a soft whimper in his lips. Pein's breathing finally seemed to be under control, and Madara was done being patient. He drew back and thrust hard into Pein. Pein arched into the slow, lazy thrusts Madara was giving him, moving his own hips in time and trying to entice Madara to go faster. Madara released Pein's mouth, waiting for it.

"Madara-sama," Pein whispered, "harder!"

Madara tipped his body up a bit and drove himself into Pein as hard as he could. Still, he kept his infuriatingly slow pace, wanting Pein to beg him for it.

"Faster…"

Madara smirked and obliged, picking up the pace to settle comfortably in Pein's screams of pleasure. He could feel Pein fighting his grip on his hands, fighting his hold on his body, fighting the kiss Madara enveloped him in-

Madara's free hand came down between them and gripped Pein's aching cock, stroking him in time with his swift, hard, thrusts. Pein cried out with the sheer pleasure-it was too much to ear. He came hard on his and Madara's stomach, smeared all over them by Madara's motion. It took a few more thrusts, but Madara came inside Pein, giving a deep, low moan of pleasure as he released into Pein. He drove himself as deep as he could and rested there for a minute, panting. He released Pein's hands and cock, letting him rest as well. Finally, Pein began to tighten around Madara, and Madara sensed his lover's pain. He drew out of him and sat back, taking a few long, deep breaths before moving up to straddle Pein's shoulders.

"Suck."

Pein raised his head and kissed at the head of Madara's member, pink tongue flicking out and teasing. He licked up and down Madara's member before taking in just the tip, slowly sucking in the rest. Madara moaned and thrust himself into Pein more fully, forcing the man to deep-throat him. Pein was caught off-guard by the movement, but couldn't refuse Madara. He began to swallow repeatedly, and Madara couldn't take it anymore. He came again, and Pein greedily drank his seed like the water of life. Madara carefully drew himself out of Pein's mouth and laid down in top of him, resting his head on Pein's chest and listening to the soft breaths his lover took.

"Don't we have more important things to be looking after?"

Madara shrugged. "In five minutes we do. But for now…" He sat up and took Pein in his arms, settling on the desk with Pein in his lap. One strong arm held his lover to him; the other gently stroked his hair. "For now, just calm yourself down a bit."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Sasuke walked down to the prison, heading straight for Itachi's cell. Three days later, and those damn Akatsuki were due any minute. Kabuto was waiting; Sasuke wanted a few last minutes with his brother. He inserted key into lock, turned it, and opened the door.

Itachi shied away with fear.

Sasuke smirked and closed the door, leaving Itachi pressed against the wall and trembling in the half-light provided by the tiny window at the top of the door. Sasuke approached Itachi, then knelt down in front of him. He could see Itachi's apprehension: he really was broken, after all. The teardrop on his collar…Kabuto must have put it there. Sasuke fingered the charm almost lovingly, ignoring Itachi himself for a moment. Hm…odd. The same charms as Orochimaru: a broken heart, a sword, and a tear. Who had he killed? Oh right: Sasuke left him alone, he broke his leash, and lashed out at his guards. Weeks ago. Sasuke was going to kill the fool himself, anyway. But since when was he a love slave? Was that how Kabuto broke him?

"Sasuke-kun, the Akatsuki are here."

Sasuke glanced up, seeing Kabuto in the open doorway. "I'll be up in a minute," he said. "Just get the papers and the money."

Kabuto nodded and headed back up, leaving Sasuke alone with Itachi.

The elder Uchiha whimpered in fear.

OOOOOOOOOO

"Look, here are the papers, signed by Pein, and here's the money in cash. It's all laid out for you; now, where's Itachi?"

"Impatient, no?" Kabuto questioned, looking over the papers. "Very good. Sasuke told me he would have Itachi up in a moment-"

"That was ten minutes ago!" Kisame growled. "You better not be lying to us-!"

"Sorry to make you wait."

Sasuke stood in the open doorway, a leash coiled in his hands. Itachi knelt at his feet, strangely despondent and quiet. Kisame hesitantly approached Itachi, taking a step towards him and calling out, "Itachi…? Itachi, what happened?"

Itachi raised his head, and Kisame was floored by what he saw.

A bloodied collar tightly encircled Itachi's neck. Blood dripped down his entire skinny body, clothed only in a black kimono damp with blood. His entire body was bruised, bloody, and dirty, and it seemed he hadn't eaten in weeks. Underneath the kimono, Kisame could see that his ribs protruded plainly from his sides, and that some of them were broken. Itachi's face also had two clean streaks down it: shit, had he been crying?! Kisame could see fresh blood flowing from underneath the collar, and reached out to take it off.

Itachi shot backwards, a yelp of fear escaping his throat.

Kisame, again, was floored. Itachi…the once proud creature who had ruled over him and most of the Akatsuki, struck fear into the hearts of anyone who heard his name, inspired almost a revolt in Konoha…was sitting here, broken, bleeding, crying, and whimpering. Kisame reached out again, aiming to touch Itachi's shoulder. The Uchiha barely accepted that, and Sasuke smirked with victory. He yanked on the leash, producing a frightened yelp from Itachi. Itachi reached up and clawed at the collar, whimpering and sobbing with the pain it was clearly causing him. "Let him go!" Konan cried. "Stop torturing him!" Sasuke's smirk grew, but Itachi's leash still didn't hit the floor. Another harsh tug had Itachi screaming with pain, and Kisame could swear he saw tears welling up again. Sasuke kicked Itachi in the side, and Itachi did his best to scamper out of the way of the blow. However, this only put more stress on his dainty neck, resulting in another pained yelp.

"Let him go!" Konan repeated. "he's no longer yours to torment!"

Sasuke finally seemed to relent, and Itachi's leash fell to the ground at his feet. "I'm done with the freak," he said. "Take him away."

He then turned and exited the room, Kabuto in tow. Kisame's teeth grit angrily: how dare they! Still, he felt a hand on his shoulder, and whipped around, realizing it was Konan. She had come along this time to heal Itachi should he need it. She handed him an apple, letting him eat quietly as she healed the worst of his wounds. Still, his head and hips remained the way they were: Itachi was too skittish to allow her to touch him.

"Kisame, please, just pick him up and carry him. He can't walk. I've healed him enough so that he isn't in terrible pain, but he needs to get that collar off. It's way too tight."

Kisame nodded and knelt down in front of Itachi, distracting him with soft touch to his stomach and shoulders. One hand crept up to caress Itachi's neck, and Kisame's hand slipped around the back of Itachi's neck, searching out the buckle of the collar. He found it and carefully opened it, letting it fall away from Itachi's neck.

Itachi screamed.

Kisame eased the collar off his neck, aware that Itachi wasn't even fighting him. It was as if he was paralyzed-

"Kisame, that collar has spikes on the inside!"

Kisame carefully pulled the collar off Itachi's neck, staring at it in shock. Sure enough, there were dozens of spikes on the inside of the collar, all of which were covered in Itachi's blood. Kisame reached out and wrapped his arms around Itachi's shaking shoulders, pulling him closer and holding him to his shoulders.

"Itachi, calm down, you're safe…don't panic, don't cry…it's alright…Itachi, please, stop crying!"

Konan shook her head. "He's too far gone. Once he realizes he's safe, he's going to lash out and drive everyone away, and then it'll seem like he's back to normal. But this is going to kill him: he's always going to have this trauma, and he'll most likely try to suicide.

"Unless someone who he loves and trusts would be there to comfort him."

Kisame sighed and rose to his feet, picking up Itachi and holding his broken, fragile form like a bride. "Let's just get him out of here," he muttered. He could feel Itachi shaking in his arms; he hadn't calmed down at all, and he didn't trust Kisame.

The group of Kisame, Konan, and Sasori left the Oto as fast as they could, not knowing that they had left behind the only person who could help Itachi.

Orochimaru sat by the gate and cried.

**A/N: Oh, my. Mixtures of emotions. Love, lust, loss, fear, distrust, and desk sex. : ) Lovely. Well, review, otherwise I kill someone off!! –grabs Itachi by hair and pulls kunai- Review or he overdoses on sleeping pills and I kill him off!!**


	9. Chapter 9

"Itachi, would you _please_ calm down!?"

Itachi refused to quiet, and his teeth found Kisame's hand in a matter of seconds. Kisame pulled his hand off to the side, letting Kona's hand get close enough to Itachi to heal the wounds on his neck. By then, however, Itachi had realized what was going on, and moved to lash out at Konan. Kisame's hand quickly curled around Itachi's mouth, pulling the Uchiha's back into Kisame's shoulder to hold him there. Itachi was in a panic by now: Kisame also had his wrists, holding both in one hand behind his back. Itachi twisted back and forth in Kisame's hold, frightened screams strangled by Kisame's hand. "Itachi, stop," Kisame said firmly, letting his hold relent for a moment. Itachi broke free and backed away, panting and whimpering. Kisame sighed and leaned against the wall, eyes closing and head tipping back.

"Itachi, you know we're only here to help you. Why do you think that we're going to hurt you? It's not like we're Sasuke or anything."

Itachi shivered and dropped to his rear on the floor, trembling as if the room was icy cold. Konan glanced at Kisame. "Hold on," she said, and walked over to where Itachi had fallen, kneeling down a good distance away from him. "Itachi…come on, look at me…I just want to ask you something."

Itachi hesitantly met Konan's eyes, and his trembling momentarily stopped.

"Were there females around you in Oto?"

Itachi slowly nodded.

"A lot, or just a few?"

"Only a few…"

"And did any of them ever hit you?"

Itachi hesitated, thinking. Then, he shook his head no.

"So it was only men who hurt you?"

Itachi nodded. Konan sighed and shifted her weight so she, too, was sitting.

"But your lover was a man?"

Itachi blushed furiously. Then, his head slowly nodded, and Konan looked confused.

"Normally, I would say he has grown wary of men, since it was only males who beat him," she said. "But he was very close to another man, so I can't say that. He seems to be okay with females, which is why I was thinking that might have happened. It is possible that a number of new fears were instilled in him, among them clearly being touched around the head and hips, possibly a fear of the dark, if he was ever kept in the dark, a fear of being blindfolded, a fear of being restrained, clearly…hey, how many of these am I getting?" Konan asked, turning to Itachi. The Uchiha seemed more comfortable around her by now, especially since Kisame was on the other side of the room.

"Most of them are true," Itachi said softly, looking away from Konan. The kunoichi decided to push Itachi a bit more.

"And which ones are incorrect?"

"Fear of the dark, and fear of men."

Konan shrugged. "Hey, pretty good. Alright, anything I missed?"

Itachi thought for a moment. "Don't think so," he said finally.

Konan glanced over at Itachi, and the flower in her hair shifted. A petal fell to the floor, flattening into a sheet of paper and then re-folding itself. "I'm going to get Pein, alright?" she asked, waiting for Itachi before sending a tiny bird to Pein. Itachi had given consent, however reluctant, and Konan knew Pein would need to know what had happened. Konan glanced at Kisame, then back at Itachi.

"Are you afraid of Kisame?"

Itachi seemed reluctant to answer. His eyes flickered between Konan, the door, Kisame, Konan, and Kisame again. "If I say yes, what happens?"

Konan shrugged. "Nothing, I guess. I just figured it would be good for Kisame to know so he didn't scare you until you felt more comfortable around him."

Itachi's teeth punched his lower lip, making blood run down his face in a tiny rivulet. He finally nodded, and Kisame sighed. Well, he had probably brought it upon himself…

"I'll leave. Itachi, when you're ready, you can come to me. I wouldn't ever hurt you, and I just hope you know that. I'm sorry." With that, he left the room, almost looking hurt. But the door didn't close immediately-Kisame stopped to hold it open for someone, and then it softly closed. Pein stepped into the room, his spiraled eyes slowly assessing the situation.

Konan was kneeling on the floor in front of Itachi, who was sitting on one hip with his legs closed and bent off to his left. Konan was wearing her Akatsuki cloak; Itachi had on only a thin black kimono. The Uchiha's eyes were downcast and quiet, and Konan looked confused and stressed. Pein slowly approached the two, eyes locked on Itachi. He crouched down next to Konan, still staring at Itachi.

"Don't touch his head or his hips," Konan murmured. "He doesn't need to fear you."

Pein nodded and slowly extended his hand to Itachi, motioning him closer. Itachi eyed him warily, and Pein noticed that, for the first time, Itachi's eyes were black.

Blood shot into them.

Itachi's lips peeled back in a harsh snarl, and he suddenly lashed out at Pein. A harsh scream broke from his throat: a scream of rage, of terror, a scream from the very depths of hell-

Pein's hand caught Itachi's, but not before his nails drew four long scratches down the side of Pein's face. Pein's eyes flashed in anger, but he knew he couldn't yell at Itachi, or strike him. It was too soon for that; Itachi was too fragile. Pein simply blocked Itachi's strikes, not bothering to catch his wrists and hold him. Itachi would panic, and that was the last thing Pein wanted.

"Itachi, what the hell is wrong with you?" he hissed, standing up to get a better position above Itachi. "What happened to suddenly make you so crazy?"

Itachi suddenly froze, and his Sharingan ceased to spin. He fell to his knees, eyes fixed on Pein as if seeing him for the very first time. Pein slowly knelt in front of Itachi again, knowing exactly what was wrong. His hands flashed in a number of signs, and he placed one hand over Itachi's eyes.

"Kai!"

Just before Itachi recoiled, the jutsu went through, and the genjutsu was lifted from Itachi's eyes. Itachi looked at Pein with a new trust, and suddenly dropped into a deep 

bow. "Leader-sama," he whispered, raising his upper body a bit. "I-I can't thank you enough-"

"That was what was making him act so skittish?" Konan asked incredulously. "A genjutsu?"

Pein nodded. "It was a genjutsu and a mental altering jutsu. Someone cast this on him to vanquish his Sharingan, then set his mind to react to certain sights, or maybe colors. Whenever he saw someone the caster didn't want him near, his mind would 'remember' horrible things that were done to him by that person. Rapes, beatings, the like. His Sharingan was suppressed so he couldn't see through the illusion, and apparently, the mental block was so he never recovered from this entire ordeal." Pein shifted his weight a bit, then asked Itachi, "May I touch your head? I need to make sure they didn't do anything else to you."

Itachi nodded slowly, and Pein's hand slowly came up to run over the side of Itachi's face. Once Itachi was comfortable with his touch, he pressed two fingers to each of Itachi's temples, sending in a bit of chakra and searching for traces of foreign chakra. Finding none, he removed his hands from Itachi, who had been surprisingly calm throughout the entire affair. "Nothing," he said. "You should be fine." Itachi nodded his thanks, and both men stood up.

"Now, I suggest you go make amends with Kisame. He looked quite hurt when he left."

OOOOOOOOOOO

Itachi softly opened the door to the apartment he and Kisame shared, stepping in and closing the door almost silently. Kisame glanced up, but said nothing, instead returning to the book he was reading. Itachi took a deep breath and walked over to the couch where Kisame was sitting, sitting down next to him. There was an awkward silence: Kisame tried his best to leave Itachi alone, letting him come at his own pace, and Itachi, waiting for Kisame to ask him a question before speaking himself. When it became clear to Itachi that Kisame wasn't speaking first, however, he took another deep breath and spoke.

"Leader-sama removed the genjutsu that was on me."

Kisame glanced up again, but this time, held eye contact with Itachi for a moment. Then, he set aside his book and shifted his weight back so he was sitting up more. "Itachi…care to explain?"

"Someone placed a genjutsu on me to disable my Sharingan, and then placed a mental block on me to make me see things." Itachi shrugged and shut up, signaling he would rather not talk about it. Kisame took the hint and nodded, still not pushing Itachi.

"So, can I touch you now? Or are you going to flip out on me?"

Itachi smiled. "I think you're okay now."

Kisame's face broke into a rare, true smile. Not the I'm-so-going-to-kick-your-ass smirk, not the cannibalistic grin, and not even the sly smile of amusement. No, this was a genuine smile-because someone he cared about was alright. Itachi gave him a small return smile, then stood up.

"Sorry I gotta run so fast, but I need a shower and some clothes. And then, I need to give Pein a bit of info I picked up along the way." Kisame looked almost surprised, and Itachi gave him a smile of amusement. "What? I wasn't just sitting in a cell pissing myself with fear the entire time, you know. I took a page out of Konan's book and began teleporting paper. I sent it all to Sasori, actually. His puppets are storing it somewhere."

Kisame shrugged. "Alright. Well, get cleaned up, and I'll get food for you. Sound good?"

"Sounds great," Itachi said, heading for the bathroom. "Ramen?"

"Chicken."

"Lovely.'

Itachi set off for the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind him. He dropped the kimono to the ground, turning on the water in the shower and letting it run for a second to get hot. He then stepped into the stream, letting the hot water wash away the dirt, grime, and filth of a month. Honestly, taking a shower had never felt so good. Itachi spent a moment just reveling in the joy of hot water coursing over his body, rinsing him clean and getting the worst of it off his body. Itachi then reached for the shampoo, running a generous amount through his beautiful hair. He made sure to wash it completely before rinsing out all the shampoo, and then repeated the process with the conditioner. Itachi washed his hair for at least ten minutes, making sure it was all clean before he could even think about moving on. Itachi grabbed a washcloth from the cabinet over the toilet and smeared a bit of soap on it, using the cloth to clean himself off. He carefully minded his wounds, working around them and then going back to dab a bit of soap into them to clean them out. Itachi took enough time to get himself clean to exhaust the current hot water supply, and only then did he force himself out of the shower. He wrapped a towel around himself, then stepped out of the shower and pulled a brush out of one of the drawers in the vanity underneath the mirror. He couldn't believe Kisame had kept all his stuff for so long-he must have had a lot of faith in his partner to leave it to him to come back. Itachi combed his hair slowly, carefully untangling it and separating the knots and snarls. When Itachi finally finished cleaning himself up, it was almost an hour later.

Itachi walked out of the bathroom in only the towel around his waist. He trusted Kisame not to laugh, or to stare or something else on his mind. Itachi retreated into the bedroom without a sound, and began rummaging around in a few drawers for clean clothes. He found a pair of boxers, a half fishnet shirt, and a pair of standard, three-quarter-length shinobi pants and figured that was enough. He dressed quickly and headed back out into the kitchen area of the apartment, eagerly awaiting Kisame's promised meal.

Sure enough, chicken flavored ramen awaited Itachi when he entered the kitchen. He sat down, broke apart his chopsticks, and dug in, eating quietly and trying to go slowly. No sense upsetting his stomach. Itachi hadn't eaten for a week. Kisame soon sat down across from Itachi with his own bowl, and both men ate without a word to each other. Itachi finished first, and wordlessly put his bowl in the sink, chopsticks tucked neatly inside it.

"Thank you."

**A/N: Aw…T.T So cute! Ita-chan feeling a bit better. Now, what exactly does he want from Pein?! Review, or you'll never know! Mwahahahahahahaaaaaa!!**


	10. Chapter 10

"Pein, I am doing this on my own time. Besides, I need to recover a bit more before taking some long-ass trip to capture a Jinchuuriki. Just give me this, okay?"

Pein sighed and pressed two fingers to each of his temples. Itachi had a point, but the trip he was planning for himself was hardly any less stressful…Itachi wanted to go back to Oto to "reclaim something that was his." Pein had no idea what this meant, but it had to be something outrageously important to Itachi for him to risk so much. Pein exhaled slowly, weighing his options. Itachi could go by himself, relying on stealth to get in and out without being noticed and getting into a fight. Or he could take someone with him and count on the other person to get him out alive, valuing speed and strength over stealth and caution. Well, if they snuck in with two people, it might work…Pein raised his head, and his hands hit the desk in front of him.

"You are free to go, but take Kisame with you."

Itachi nodded once, bowed to Pein, and left the room.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi darted through the trees, skittering along the wall like a nervous deer. His steps were swift, agile, and confident, but something in Itachi had his heart fluttering like the wings of a hummingbird. His breath came slightly faster than normal; he was on edge more, and fearing even the smallest flicker of shadow. Itachi knew he was truly attached to Orochimaru now; he feared so for his love's life, and feared that he himself wouldn't be adequate to save him. That was why he didn't want to be seen: it involved putting Orochimaru at risk. Itachi finally found what he was looking for-a crack in the wall. He was very, very hesitant to use chakra-it was more than likely he would be detected. Itachi stuck a kunai in the crack, making sure it was secure before stepping up onto it and launching his weight up and over the wall. Itachi landed in a bush, then glanced back up for Kisame. The shark-man landed next to him, rather gracelessly at that, but Itachi ignored him. Instead, he concentrated on sneaking into the building right in front of him. Itachi slipped soundlessly across the few feet of clear view, and slid behind the building without a breath of air disturbed. Kisame decided to wait until Itachi had a way in, and then just run for it. His partner was slight and small; he was the exact opposite. Itachi found a door, but it was locked tightly with a deadbolt and a knob. Itachi reached into his cloak and pulled something out-a kunai. Kisame could see his partner working quickly to dispose of the locks by unscrewing them from the doors, but even Kisame knew they were wasting precious time. The more time passed, the more likely they were to be seen.

Both locks dropped to the ground, and Itachi was in.

Kisame sighed. Sometimes, Itachi really did deserve to be in Akatsuki. He bolted across the open space and darted into the doorway, immediately flattening himself to the wall on the left. If anyone looked now, they shouldn't see anything. Kisame glanced around for Itachi-where was the kid anyway?

Down the hall and long gone.

Kisame sighed and pulled the door shut, masking any sign of their presence in the building, and flew down the hallway after Itachi. Both of the missing-nin had masked their chakra, and now they continued without fear of detection. Itachi knew his way around from his dozens of escape attempts, and knew where all the guards were. He also knew how to navigate the complex flawlessly, and Kisame didn't question him once. Itachi led him with a distinct, confident air, and Kisame followed-having no clue where he was going.

Itachi finally stopped at a door-insignificant, and not any different from the others. But apparently, Itachi had seen or sensed something within, and this was what they had come from. Itachi's hand rested on the doorknob for a moment, and he bit his lower lip. Kisame waited patiently-he knew now what was behind this door that Itachi wanted so badly.

Itachi's hand turned the knob fluidly, the door opened.

OOOOOOOOOOO

Orochimaru's eyes remained closed when the door opened. He didn't know who had come for him, and he didn't want to. It was either Sasuke or Kabuto-Sasuke had forbidden anyone else from seeing him. Orochimaru had been declared sentenced to death by Sasuke, and was supposed to be left to die in the basement. He was blindfolded, gagged, and chained down around the neck, wrists, and ankles. Sasuke himself came in almost every day to torture Orochimaru and mock him, enjoying the whimpers of fear and squeals of pain he managed to extract from the snake while he was pinned by the tail underneath Sasuke's foot. Orochimaru was given water so he would stay alive, but nothing else. Kabuto, however, was having none of it. He came in and fed Orochimaru whenever he could, lying to Sasuke about his condition and casting genjutsus. Unfortunately, he couldn't heal the wounds, or take away the pain. Orochimaru wasn't even allowed to know who he was. Now, the sannin lay on the floor, just struggling to keep breathing. Everything he had was gone-his village, his power, his status, his virginity, his lover, and now, his life. Orochimaru lay quietly, waiting for death. He hoped someone had come with a mercy killing for him-he was sick of even hearing his heartbeat anymore. Every part of his body screamed with the pain, and each part had its own heartbeat. Orochimaru unconsciously shivered, whimpered, and pulled back-he didn't want to be tortured, he wanted to die! Just living was torture enough! What else was left to take from him?!

The blindfold fell to the ground, allowing long-unused eyes to open and drink in the scene around him. The first thing Orochimaru saw was Itachi.

Orochimaru's eyes widened, and Itachi quickly pulled the gag off his mouth. "Calm down, it's me," he whispered, reaching out to stroke Orochimaru's hair. Orochimaru began to strain against the chains, fighting to get closer to Itachi. The Uchiha reached up to where Orochimaru's wrists were chained together above his head, using a long, thin pick to open the lock. Orochimaru let out a small, stifled noise of pain as circulation rushed back into his arms, and Itachi kept moving. He unlocked the cruel collar around Orochimaru's neck, placing it softly on the floor to avoid noise. Kisame was standing in the doorway, watching for anyone who might threaten them. Itachi's hands moved swiftly over Orochimaru's body, taking away the chains on his ankles and helping him stand. Orochimaru could hardly even do that, and ended up clinging to Itachi just to stay upright. Itachi wrapped one arm around him, using the other to pull off his Akatsuki cloak. Orochimaru was naked, and clearly freezing in the cold dungeons under even the underground complex of Oto. Itachi draped the cloak over Orochimaru's shoulders, then closed it over him and picked him up. "Let's go," he hissed to Kisame, taking off at a run for the exit. Kisame followed close behind him, still following Itachi for lack of a clue where they were going. Itachi flashed out of the complex, Orochimaru huddled in his arms and Kisame close behind. He focused chakra to his feet, took off at a run, and leapt effortlessly up and over the wall. Kisame was right behind him, and the two missing-nin tore off into the woods.

And no one was the wiser until the next day, when Orochimaru was originally supposed to have starved to death.

OOOOOOOOOO

Itachi didn't reach the Akatsuki lair until daybreak the next morning.

He and Kisame arrived, panting and exhausted, but Itachi still had the energy to drag himself and Orochimaru to his room, get Orochimaru a cup of ramen and an apple, and then collapse on the couch in exhaustion. He fell right asleep, and Kisame did the same-in his own bed. Orochimaru ate ravenously, and then glanced around, looking for some sort of direction. Well, he supposed Itachi wouldn't mind if he just bandaged himself a bit…Orochimaru went into the bathroom, opening the cabinet under the sink and looking for a roll of bandages. He found it, and also pulled out a bottle of salve and a roll of paper towels. He dampened one with water, then pulled off Itachi's cloak and sat down against the cabinet. He leaned back a bit to relax his stomach, and began wiping down and bandaging his wounds. It hurt like all hell-but Orochimaru knew he had to get his wounds clean. Infection was not fun, and neither was bleeding to death. Orochimaru finally got the worst of his wounds bandaged, struggling through the entire thing.

He fell asleep in the bathroom that night, curled up on the floor with a towel for warmth.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi awoke the next morning still tired.

He groaned and heaved himself up off the sofa, the only force awakening him the urge to relieve himself. Itachi staggered to the bathroom, disoriented and groggy. He had just closed the door-

When he let out a startled cry of surprise.

A yelp soon followed, and Itachi leaned against the counter, breathing hard. Orochimaru cowered in the corner of the room, trying to cover himself with the towel he ended up using as a blanket. Itachi gave a sigh of relief when he realized what had happened, and sank down on his rear against the cabinet under the sink. "Okay, scared me a little," he muttered, rubbing his forehead with one hand. Orochimaru seemed to shrink to half his size before Itachi's very eyes, and a tiny, whispered apology could be heard, followed by two pearly tears sliding down Orochimaru's cheeks. Itachi stood up and walked over to Orochimaru, kneeling down in front of him and taking him into his arms.

"Orochimaru, calm down," he said, pulling the sannin into his lap. "You're safe; no one here wants to hurt you. You just startled me, that's all. I'm not quite myself in the morning, you know?" Orochimaru slowly seemed to calm, and Itachi gave a nod of satisfaction. "Alright, I need to pee really, really bad, so if you can wait outside for a minute, I'll grab you some clothes and get you something to eat. That sound good?"

Orochimaru nodded, and Itachi stood up again. Orochimaru slithered out the door and sat down against the wall, a good few feet away. Itachi quickly took care of himself, washed his hands, and came back out a bit more alert. He went straight into the kitchen and got Orochimaru a large granola bar, tossing it to him and walking past. "I'm getting you clothes," he said. "Unless you'd rather just keep the towel until you get cleaned up?"

Orochimaru nodded. He desperately needed a shower, and having someone help him clean up his wounds would be lovely. Itachi nodded once, and took Orochimaru back into the bathroom. "You can eat that while I clean you up, okay? Unless you'd rather take a shower."

"I-I'd like to eat…"

Itachi shrugged. "Okay, then," he said, and reached under the sink for bandages, ointment, and a soft washcloth. He poured a bit of soap on the cloth, wet it, and began slowly wiping Orochimaru's legs off. It seemed that Orochimaru's legs had been whipped-there were half-healed cuts wrapping around Orochimaru's legs, and Itachi found himself feeling pain _for_ Orochimaru. That must have been painful…Itachi finished cleaning off the entire leg up to the middle of the thigh, where he didn't even think about going just yet. He bandaged Orochimaru's legs up to the knees, then pulled the towel back down to cover as much of him as possible. Itachi sat up a bit from his position on the floor and went after Orochimaru's back, still trying to ease him into the feeling of being touched by another human-without feeling pain or terror at their touch. Orochimaru's back had been viciously whipped, and some of the wounds were still oozing blood. Itachi cleaned the wounds out, making sure to heal the more severe ones with a bit of healing chakra before moving on. It seemed Orochimaru had yanked the wounds open at some point in the past few hours…to still be bleeding, however profusely, was a sign that the wounds were recent. While he worked, Itachi watched carefully for any sign of distress from Orochimaru. He knew that the snake was hurt, but also that he trusted him. What he wanted to know was: which force was greater? Itachi slowly worked his way up to Orochimaru's shoulders, running his hands over the muscles and waiting for Orochimaru's reaction. There was none. He continued up and around the pale column of Orochimaru's throat, seeking out any more injuries. Itachi discovered several lacerations and abrasions in Orochimaru's neck, most likely from the collar Sasuke had put on him. Green chakra flared up around Itachi's hand, closing the wound and moving on to caress the side of Orochimaru's face. The snake didn't move; was he nervous? Afraid? Did he care?

Orochimaru shifted his weight, and rested his head against Itachi's hand.

Itachi knew than that Orochimaru was alright. He trusted him more than he feared anything, and that said something to Itachi. The Uchiha slowly sat down next to Orochimaru on the floor against the wall, putting one arm around Orochimaru and pulling him closer. Orochimaru leaned over, letting his weight rest in his shoulder and hip, shoulder on Itachi's and hip on the floor. Orochimaru let his head fall to Itachi's shoulder as well, and he turned his body so he could get closer to Itachi.

And the tears began to fall.

**A/N: Emo…review, por favor. I was going to make this fifteen chapters at first, but then decided to just make a single epilogue chapter and be happy. : ) Enjoy, and please, let me know what you think!!**


	11. Chapter 11

Though the tears continued to flow for Orochimaru, they flowed less and less over the weeks. Itachi had freed him from slavery, and taken him in as a lover. Orochimaru could ask for nothing more. He could usually be seen with Itachi, whether sitting at his feet and reading or doing something Itachi told him to do. He was never far from the Uchiha's side, and couldn't even bear to sleep in another room.

Out of fear or love, Itachi never bothered to ask. But one night, he got his answer.

One night, he awoke to someone gently shaking him and whispering his name. Itachi woke up and turned over, only to see Orochimaru sitting on the edge of his bed and looking like he had just seen a ghost.

"Itachi?" he murmured, "May I sleep with you tonight?"

Itachi slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Why?" he asked. "You've been fine for weeks, now-something wrong?"

Orochimaru hesitated, then nodded.

"Can you tell me what?" Itachi pressed. Orochimaru hesitated again, but obliged.

"I-It was a nightmare…he came back for me…and took me away from you…he told me I would never see you again…and then he raped me…again…"

Itachi sighed and sat up, wrapping his arms around Orochimaru and pulling him into his lap. "Calm down," he murmured, gently stroking Orochimaru's hair. "I'm here…" He could feel Orochimaru's shoulders shaking, and moisture slowly seeping into the tee-shirt he was wearing to sleep in. Orochimaru's pale hands clutched at his shoulders, and he curled up in Itachi's embrace as tightly as he could. Itachi slowly laid down, letting Orochimaru lie next to him and cling to him. It took Orochimaru a good ten minutes to cry himself to sleep, but with Itachi comforting him and calming him, he fell asleep relatively quickly. Itachi fell asleep with his arms wrapped around Orochimaru, and neither moved until the morning.

OOOOOOOOO

Over the days and weeks that passed, Orochimaru's wounds slowly healed, both bodily and mentally. He was less and less hesitant to speak his mind, and he wasn't afraid to ask for something if he needed it. He still stayed close to Itachi, but he was less skittish and had less separation anxiety. Konan checked him over occasionally, and said every time that Orochimaru was fine, and Itachi was doing well taking care of him. Orochimaru's fears, however, had to be dealt with over time. He had a fear of being touched around the head and the hips, due to the beatings and rapes, and he usually suffered from separation anxiety. His fear also of being left alone seemed to stay the same over time; no matter what, Itachi couldn't stop Orochimaru from virtually waiting next to the door every time he went out. He didn't really, but Itachi knew Orochimaru wasn't happy whenever he left.

"Itachi!"

Orochimaru stood up from the couch when Itachi entered the room, walking over to his lover and greeting him with a kiss. Itachi returned the kiss, then stepped back and moved around Orochimaru. He dropped his weaponry and cloak on his bed, then went back to Orochimaru and embraced him. "Miss me?" he asked, sitting down on the couch with Orochimaru. The sannin nodded, and the two settled comfortably one next to the other. Itachi lay against the back of the couch on his side, one arm supporting his head and the other wrapped around Orochimaru. Orochimaru was lying on his side, both arms around Itachi's neck and face tucked into his shoulder. Itachi glanced up as he heard the door open, and Orochimaru slowly lifted his head from Itachi's shoulder. Itachi noticed Kisame walking in and settled down again, but Orochimaru didn't. He sat up, waiting until Itachi did as well to calm down. Even though his body relaxed, Orochimaru waited for orders.

"Orochimaru, you're fine," Itachi said, swinging his legs over the side of the couch. Orochimaru tucked his legs neatly off to the side, making sure he wasn't in Itachi's way. Itachi stood up, motioning for Orochimaru to come with him. Orochimaru stood up and happily following Itachi, remaining a step or two behind to show respect. Itachi led Orochimaru into the bedroom and began digging around in his closet. Orochimaru stopped a few yards away and stared, curious. Itachi dropped to his knees and began digging again, finally coming up with a banged-up old cardboard box. He stood up, blowing the dust off its lid and sitting down on the bed. Orochimaru hesitantly walked over to him, and then sat down as well. Itachi lifted the lid off the box, revealing an Oto headband.

"You are the Otokage," Itachi whispered, "And your village needs you. I'll go with you and overthrow Sasuke, and you can take back what is yours. Then, you can take his body and rule Otoga again…with everything you always had, and more."

Orochimaru stared at Itachi. "Then…what's-?"

"I'll be joining you."

Orochimaru's eyes widened, and he scooted back a bit, away from Itachi. "No…you can't…don't just give everything up-!"

"I'm tired of waiting," Itachi said softly. "Your medic can do something about my eyes, and we can be together without fear. Akatsuki means nothing to me; it never has meant anything to me. All that mattered was that I could do something about my eyes…how they're deteriorating. And then I met you, and I stopped caring. I realized that was wandering aimlessly in life…I needed something to devote myself to, a reason to live. And then…then I found it." Itachi leaned forward, putting his arm around Orochimaru and drawing him close again. "Could you ever accept that you are my reason to live?"

Orochimaru froze, unsure of what to say. It seemed words would ruin the moment, and yet, Itachi had to know…he finally came up with an adequate solution. Orochimaru leaned forward…and kissed him.

OOOOOOOOO

Itachi and Orochimaru snuck into Oto a few days later, and assassinated Sasuke. It wasn't hard; no one liked him, and everyone in the village rose up against him when they heard Itachi and Orochimaru were moving for the throne. Kabuto welcomed Orochimaru back with open arms, and played a crucial role in taking back the village. Orochimaru was able to take Sasuke's body, achieving his lifelong dream of possessing Sharingan. Itachi decided to wait until Orochimaru transferred bodies again to have sex with him; he found that even though it was Orochimaru's soul, it was still Sasuke's body, and he couldn't bring himself to touch his brother's body. Orochimaru was still afraid of being raped, however, and it took the three years in Sasuke's body to get over it. When he transferred again into a new body, he simply transplanted Sasuke's eyes and retained his Sharingan. Itachi and Orochimaru considered themselves free to have sex, and did so almost immediately-much to Kabuto's chagrin.

Kabuto himself seemed to move along as though nothing had happened. Orochimaru had requested that he do so, and Kabuto honored his master's wishes. The Sound Five were happy to see their master again, and remained his loyal servants until their dying day. The Akatsuki declared Itachi a traitor and went after him with Orochimaru. Neither were ever caught.

Itachi died to save Orochimaru, who tried to suicide several times out of depression. An attack in the middle of the night had Orochimaru trapped, and Itachi rushed back into the burning complex to drag him out. Itachi pushed Orochimaru out of the way of a falling chunk of ceiling, telling him to run and never look back. Orochimaru made it out, but Itachi's remains were never even found. Kabuto saved Orochimaru from suicide three times before helping him move on. Orochimaru had a shrine built and dedicated to Itachi, and still struggles to keep going to this day. Every morning, he visits the shrine, a habit somewhat like Kakashi's. However, he is not perpetually late. Kabuto worries about Orochimaru, but allows him his freedom. He knows that Orochimaru would never accept him being too close.

However, at night, the nightmares of the day his lover died still haunt Orochimaru. And Kabuto is the one who takes him in his arms, and holds him the entire night.

All to be forgotten the next morning.

**A/N: Wow, I had the worst writer's block on this. Still, I need to wrap it up, and thus, present you with this pile of brain mush. Please review and let me know what you think; it encourages me.**


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